When Dr. Shola Tijani was trying to decide where to settle with her family after her residency, there were many options. She knew that she wanted to be in a more medically underserved area because, as an immigrant from Nigeria, practicing in such an area was key to her path to citizenship. However, as she looked through the options, none of them seemed just right…until she found Zachary. “I liked the demographics,” she explained, “being somewhere that was close to 50/50 just felt right. I think diversity is so important in education and in communities. Plus, I love seafood and all the Southern food, so that was a nice bonus!”

Dr. Tijani explains that her Yoruba heritage meant that education was very valued in her family. There were basically four paths open to her and her siblings, they could work in medicine, law, as engineers, or they could run a profitable business.  At 16, she started college at Baylor University in Waco, TX. “I thought that I wanted to be a nurse. As a female growing up in Nigerian culture, the rule was "be ambitious, but not too ambitious." I didn’t have the frame of reference to believe I could be a doctor."

That changed when a professor took her aside and told her that since she was finding her coursework so easy, she would probably excel at pre-med. She took that counsel to heart and changed her major to pre-med and neuroscience. The rest is history. 

Dr. Tijani knew that she wanted to specialize in a type of medicine that allowed for deep connection with her patients, not one where you only see them in an emergency and then never again. Pediatrics was the perfect fit because she loves children and because she says, "a lot of pediatrics is preventative and there’s room for change. Adults have more resistance. I get to enjoy being a part of family growth and family change. I get to see them grow and accomplish things and I get invested!"

Being a Black doctor has many benefits to her patients. Dr. Tijani recalls a young girl who she saw during her residency who was absolutely shocked that someone who looked like her (they both had their hair in braids at the time) was going to be her doctor. "It is so important to show the young people what is possible. They see me and they think "I could do that too."  Having a doctor who understands how different conditions present on darker skin is also really important, especially in pediatrics where "what is this rash?" is a constant, pressing question from parents. 

But it's not just Dr. Tijani's Black patients who benefit from her care. She is showing all children and families what "being a pediatrician" can look like, a role that is very different from just a few decades ago. She is able to give up-to-date advice about things like how to implement gentle parenting strategies or how to navigate the technology that our children are all exposed to at such an early age. 

She also sees her role as not just a physician, but a community member. "In Nigeria," she explains, "community is so important. If we saw a child walking down the road we'd ask where they needed to be. We kept an eye on each other and supported all the families. Here, there in America there's less of that and I we have much higher rates of mental illness here. I want to bring that part of my culture here to Zachary." 

To that end, her husband has been encouraging her to become more active on social media and make some videos to help parents from all over Zachary and beyond have access to up-to-date information and parenting support. Ultimately, she believes "better mental health for parents is the biggest influence on the kids. A happy parent disciplines, coaches, and corrects better and models better behavior. That in turn helps to show kids how to act." 

Dr. Tijani was drawn to Zachary because of our diversity and push for inclusion and community. Now that she's here, she is helping to put all of those ideas into action with her work at Lane Pediatrics and beyond. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Tijani, contact Lane today!