s t u d e n t p ro f i l e
K E I T H S H E B A IRO s c h o o l o f l aw
Mixing Medical and Legal for Better Health Care To call Keith Shebairo an overachiever would be an understatement. After his second year of law school ended last spring, he headed to New York to prepare for his medical board exams in child psychiatry. An MD, Shebairo is already board certified in adult psychiatry. And, instead of taking a summer break after his exams, he went to work for the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office in the Felony Family Violence Division. With a JD and an MD, Shebairo plans to work in the area of health law, policy, and bioethics after graduation this May. Toward that end, he secured a fellowship in Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s office in the summer of 2008 with the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and worked on a variety of health-related bills. In the spring of 2009, Shebairo worked in the Maryland legislature as part of the law school’s Tobacco Control Clinic. Using his medical training as an expert trial witness is a particular interest of Shebairo’s. “I never wanted to be a doctor who sees patients all the time,” he says. “You can make a difference on a broader level when you change policy.” Kathleen Dachille, JD, director of the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation, and Advocacy at the School of Law, says,“Keith has thought about the role a psychiatrist can play in litigation and how his training can enhance our ability to handle problems in the court system.” “The more we branch out,” Shebairo says, “the more we can do to help the health profession. If you don’t change the laws—if you don’t change the policy—then you’re just sort of stuck. I felt like I wanted to try to do things a little differently.” Pairing a law degree with his medical degree will broaden his understanding of health care cases. “Physicians don’t generally
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UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE
BY CLARE BANKS
learn about business or law in medical school. They don’t learn ‘the why’ behind many of the legal and administrative policies we are expected to follow,” says Shebairo. Originally from Long Island, Shebairo chose the University of Maryland for its nationally ranked health care law program. “Coming to this law school has been one of the best experiences of my life,” he says. “I just feel really comfortable here.” Shebairo has served as class representative to the law school’s student bar association and law school senator on the University Student Government Association. He’s also an enthusiastic participant in the law school’s National Trial Team. As a Leadership Scholar, Shebairo receives significant financial support from the Walter Clark Scholarship Fund. The Leadership Scholar Program was established at the School of Law in 2004 and has since provided private support for scholarships to more than 150 students with records of significant accomplishment. Shebairo is one of 80 current and former Leadership Scholars who have already helped continue the tradition by combining to contribute or pledge more than $75,000 to an endowment that will fund future Leadership Scholarships. Jerome Deise, JD, professor and director of the law school’s Trial Advocacy Program, knows Shebairo through his participation on the National Trial Team. “As a psychiatrist, Keith understands people as most lawyers cannot,” says Deise. “He understands the psychology of how one learns, of how one persuades and can be persuaded. His greatest strength is his wonderful ability to listen.” —Susie Flaherty contributed to this article.
PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN WEBER