ElevateMeD Scholar: Yezan "iPod" Hassan
Meet Yezan "iPod" Hassan
ElevateMeD Scholar 2026-27
Yezan "iPod" Hasan shares how his background as a refuge and early experiences in Detroit shaped his mission to pursue medicine domestically and globally
Hometown: Baghdad, Iraq (Detroit, Michigan)
Medical Education: Creighton University School of Medicine
Undergraduate Education: The University of Arizona in Physiology, Neuroscience & Cognitive Science with Neurobiology Emphasis and Molecular & Cellular Biology, and Arabic w/ Biochemistry Minor
Current Career Plan: Complete general surgery residency with particular interest in pediatric surgery and global surgery. I want to work in global surgery spaces where I can support the development of health systems and policies built and adapted by communities, both domestically and internationally. My hope out of my surgical training is to gain a broad-based skillset that would allow me to respond to the most common health needs of communities as well as to respond to humanitarian crises.
Specialty Interest: Global Pediatric Trauma Surgery
I am most proud of my people. My family, friends, colleagues, mentors, mentees, communities... The greatest joys I have had in my life has been celebrating the good that I have seen come from the people around me living in their values. My parents for spending one afternoon every weekend to feed the homeless. My brother for being an amazing father against all odds. My best friends for buying their homes and starting their families. My mentors for leading cutting edge initiatives in humanitarian efforts or AI/technology. My mentees for starting their education in one of the most honorable vocations - medicine (: of course. I am overjoyed witnessing the successes of others - especially when it means creating a nidus of success for those around them as well.
You might be surprised to know that some of the things I love the most are things I lack talent in or that my mannerisms would appear to contradict. I love art, but am not a very good artist despite my best efforts. If I weren't going into medicine, I would have loved to be an architect or engineer because I get excited by the idea of creating. I am always smiling or laughing about something I find humorous, but I don't think I am a very funny person. I'm a minimalist who likes organizing spaces, but I have a collection of random rocks from my hikes and camping trips lining a window sill in my room. My favorite pastime is listening to music although I cannot sing or dance to save my life. I enjoy watching basketball despite having played many other sports, and am probably the least talented basketball player in our campus' league. And last but not least, I am the biggest people-lover but I consider myself an introvert; which any of my friends or family reading this is going to disagree with.
ElevateMeD is… a family! It may not be by blood, but it is by values, enthusiasm, ambition, and humanism. It is a community comprised of medical students early in their professional formation interspersed with physicians and professionals who have endured meaningful, rewarding careers and want to pass along their wisdom and experience to the next generation. It is a culture that subscribes to the belief that medicine should be led by change agents who prioritize people over profit, prosperity over pride, and peace over power. ElevateMeD is a goodness in the space of medicine and one that I am overjoyed to be a part of and to contribute to.
