UCSF Education Showcase Welcomed Keynote and New CASE Scholar Naike Bochatay Simpson, PhD
Naike Bochatay Simpson, PhD
Naike Bochatay Simpson, PhD, is a sociologist whose work interrogates how power and hierarchy shape learning environments in health professions education. During her keynote on April 30, she noted that well-meaning reforms, such as professionalism curricula or feedback training, often fall short because they fail to address the deeper structural forces that govern behavior. Drawing on her doctoral training at the University of Geneva, Bochatay Simpson highlights how entrenched hierarchies influence everything from assessment practices to interprofessional collaboration.
Her analysis emphasizes that inequities in medical and health training are not merely the result of individual bias or lack of awareness, but are embedded within institutional norms, reward systems, and cultural expectations. She calls for a shift away from interventions focused solely on individual attitudes toward systemic redesign, rethinking evaluation systems, flattening hierarchies where possible, and creating accountability structures that promote psychological safety and inclusion.
Bochatay Simpson’s professional experience, including roles at the University of California, San Francisco and Karger Publishers, informs her pragmatic approach to change. She bridges theory and practice by advocating for research-informed reforms that are both critical and actionable.
As she joins UCSF as an Educational Research Scientist on May 18, 2026, her work continues to push the field beyond surface-level solutions, urging educators and institutions to confront and transform the structural dynamics that shape health professions education.
