Schweitzer Fellow supporting refugee community with mental health workshops

Schweitzer Fellow supporting refugee community with mental health workshops

Friday, February 20, 2026

Media Contact: Kayley Spielbusch | Digital Communications Specialist | 918-561-5759 | [email protected]

Adam Khan's commitment to global health led him to Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Khan, a fourth-year medical student, was born in the United Arab Emirates, and his family moved to the United States when he was 6. Pursuing a career in medicine was not always his plan.

Originally, he entered his undergraduate studies planning to pursue human rights law. When he realized that was not the right career for him, he decided to go into medicine, as it still provided him with a chance to be an advocate and pursue global health.

Khan chose OSU-COM because of its global health track and dual degree option for a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Master of Science in Global Health - the latter of which he completed last year.

He's been on multiple global health trips, including to Mexico and Costa Rica. He said these experiences have been invaluable, and he is fortunate to be at OSU-COM.

"It's been eye-opening and something you can't learn in a classroom. Looking back, I would pick OSU-COM 100 times again because of the amazing opportunities they have for students to learn about global health," Khan said.

Now, he is channeling his passion for global health into supporting refugees through the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, as a member of the 2025-26 Tulsa cohort.

The Schweitzer Fellowship equips future health care leaders with the skills needed to address unmet health care needs in their communities. Tulsa is one of 10 program sites in the United States and is the program's national headquarters.

For his project, Khan partnered with YWCA Tulsa, a nonprofit organization committed to fostering an equitable community for all. He works alongside their immigrant and refugee services team to host monthly or bi-monthly mental health workshops through February.

The inspiration for the project came after learning about Tulsa's large refugee community and what one of his professors referred to as the patients' hierarchy of needs.

"Factors like physical health, jobs and housing are often prioritized before a patient can engage in resources for their mental health. Refugees who have been here for a few years have their physical needs taken care of; now is a chance for these populations to focus on mental health because they have the time to give it attention," he said.

The workshops, which also include food and childcare, are open to everyone and cover a range of mental health topics relevant to refugees, such as coping with stress in a new environment, dealing with family stressors and how to navigate the mental health resources available in Tulsa.

Khan also invites psychiatrists, professors and other medical students to help lead the workshops.

He said they are fortunate to have a great turnout at the workshops and that the number of attendees continues to increase.

"At our first workshop, we had 10 to 11 people come out, and now we're up to 20 to 30 members of the refugee community each session. And the greatest part of that is these individuals come to our workshops, they go home and they tell their families about what they've learned," he said.

Knowing that the workshops are having an impact on refugee youth means a lot to Khan because these are resources that would have helped him as a child after moving to the United States.

"For refugee youth, navigating mental health in a new country, a new school and a new environment can be tough. I know that because I moved here at a pretty young age, and I wish I had someone at that time to help me navigate these things," he said.

Khan said the conversations he has had with attendees about how helpful the workshops have been for their families have affirmed for him that he is doing the right thing, and they have been his favorite part of the experience.

And the Schweitzer Fellowship is only the first step for him.

"My biggest goal as a physician is to build hospitals around the world in areas of need and teach these workshops there. The lessons I've learned from this experience will guide me as I pursue building health care infrastructure worldwide," Khan said.