By CN Communications

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – As a young man, Dr. Vince Kirk saw the importance in filling the language gap when it came to the medical field. He, along with other family members, often accompanied his grandmother, who for the most part only spoke Cherokee, to doctor visits to interpret.

Kirk, who is from Marble City, earned a degree in psychology to help bridge the cultural differences to patients needing counseling. However, as he was called upon to help his grandmother with her doctor visits, he turned to the physical side of the medical field.

“Elders often say they understand when really they don’t. When my grandma got sick with cancer, we would go to the doctor with her because she didn’t speak very much English,” Kirk said. “She did not like going to the doctor because there were no Indian doctors. As her treatment progressed, I became more interested in medicine and I saw the need of having Indian doctors who spoke Cherokee.”

With the help of Cherokee Nation and the Indian Health Service, Kirk enrolled at the OSU College of Medicine. Through the years he learned a lot about the medical field and even interned in Washington, D.C., as part of the President’s Cancer Panel, spending a month doing medical care in the rural villages of India.

The journey, while a good one, wasn’t easy. The entire process took about 12 years to complete. However, he continued through the trials with a strong commitment to work in rural health care, particularly among Native Americans. 

CN W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital employees said they enjoy having him as part of the team and that they have noticed the sense of ease his patients have knowing he is their doctor.

“He really works well with the patients,” said registered nurse Margarett Parker. “It’s fun to be with him because he calls patients to his office in Cherokee and if the patient is a Cherokee speaker, he will conduct the entire office visit in Cherokee. He’s great and we love him here.”

Kirk now works in the Adult Clinic and in the emergency room. He said speaking Cherokee has at times really helped the patients who come in, especially the ones coming in for a regular visit in the clinic.

“Most patients don’t talk much, but when they find out I am a local person and a Cherokee speaker, they seem to be more at ease and they talk more. I think it helps,” he said.

Mostly, however, Kirk said he is exactly where he wants to be – practicing rural medicine helping Indian people in the heart of the Cherokee Nation.

“It’s been a fun journey, but I’m really happy to be home,” he said.