VOICES OF HMSOM: Hanna Plans To Rely On His Deep Faith As Physician

Growing up as a Coptic Orthodox Christian to Egyptian parents, David Hanna says helping underserved populations was always a passion. Pursuing a career in medicine - psychiatry in particular - felt like a natural path to use his work as a means to serve those in vulnerable situations, including immigrants. In fact, his parents came to the U.S. from Egypt just before he was born. It’s the reason he’s been fluent in Arabic his whole life. That unique ability in languages is just one extraordinary skill he hopes to use in his medical career as a psychiatrist in the not so distant future.

“Psychiatry is a field that deals with invisible illnesses that heavily impact the quality of life of those who are unable to advocate for themselves. It is my desire to help provide hope and healing to those who suffer with these conditions,” said Hanna, who is set to continue pursuing that goal after graduating from the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM) in June.

“David Hanna is a terrific example of a person bringing their passion and convictions to a promising career in medicine,” said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., president and dean of HMSOM.

Path To SOM

Hanna grew up in Connecticut and attended University of Connecticut (UConn) for undergrad, not too far of a drive from Nutley, NJ. He was drawn to the SOM because of its emphasis on philanthropy, humanitarianism, patient-centered care and working with underserved communities. The P3R program was also a deciding factor as Hanna was set on pursuing psychiatry from the beginning and here, he would get a head start.

“This felt like a perfect fit for me overall given my views of humanism in medicine and my desire to serve in underserved communities,” he said.

While at UConn, Hanna helped conduct research regarding religion and spirituality and its correlation with stress. It gave him a good foundation for future research at SOM, where Hanna dived into as many opportunities and experiences in the mental health space as possible.

Thanks to HMH’s vast network of hospitals, Hanna has been working on a research project at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, NJ, with Nathan Carroll, D.O., on various psychiatric topics including personality changes following traumatic brain injury. He’s also volunteered as a peer mentor and participated in Phone Pals through the HOPE Tower Psychiatric Clinic. The program aims to provide support and compassion to older patients who are living alone or suffer from psychiatric illness. Hanna says it’s been an eye opening experience.

“It reinforced the idea that your presence is what matters most to people. I wasn't able to offer my phone pal any medical advice or treatment, but he was always so grateful for someone showing interest in him as a person and taking the time to be present and engaged. This taught me that I should approach all of my patients in this manner, caring for the person and not just the disease,” he said.

Tackling The Mental Health Crisis

As a member of the cohort that enrolled as the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic was winding down in 2022, Hanna has seen first hand the long lasting effects of the crisis on mental health.

“People struggled with loneliness daily and had poor systems of social support, which became very evident during the pandemic. As a result, the need for mental health services has greatly increased.

“I’m so happy to see how many more people are interested in a career in psychiatry. We know we are making a difference to the many who suffer with various conditions,” Hanna added.

A Future In Psychiatry Prior to medical school, Hanna says he was blessed to have the opportunity to visit Kenya twice with his church. There he learned richness is not in materials, but rather in the manner which we approach life and the relationships we build. It is in part for that reason, Hanna is so passionate about building relationships with every patient, relying on that deep rooted faith to help him help others.

He hopes to stay with the HMH “family” after graduating from HMSOM.

“God willing, after graduation, I will be doing a psychiatry residency at Ocean University Medical Center. I have always been interested in working in prisons, but lately I have also been very drawn to working with kids. I am moved by their purity of heart, simplicity and joy. As a result, I am strongly considering a future in child and adolescent psychiatry, but I plan to wait until residency to discern between this and forensics,” Hanna added.

With faith as his background and his family always top of mind – including three siblings and of course that mom and dad who arrived in the U.S. two decades ago – he plans to continue bringing compassion and care to those who are struggling.