Family physician Mehmiya Raghid joins Oaklawn's Tekonsha office

Perhaps in retrospect, Mehmiya Raghid seems fated to have become a doctor. Professional medicine was a major part of her life even before she was born.

Start with the fact that her father and mother are physicians who practice internal and OB/GYN medicine, respectively. Then add that Raghid’s sister also is a doctor – and so is Raghid’s husband. 

“Miya” Raghid, who practices family medicine with a focus on women’s health, obstetrics and obesity management, will work chiefly from Oaklawn’s Tekonsha office at 2218 Old US-27 South. Appointments may be made by calling (517) 767-4038. 

“I was really inspired by my parents’ dedication to their patients,” she said. “It was something that came up during dinner and family discussions. It inspired me to follow their path, and it’s why I went into family medicine, which is a combination of what both my parents do.” 

Raghid grew up and went to school in the Long Island community of Hewlett, N.Y., to which her parents had moved from their home country of Pakistan. 

“I wanted to get in touch with my culture,” Raghid said. “I wanted to get back to my roots and have the experience of connecting with my parents.” 

 After her high school graduation, Raghid chose to pursue studies at Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan, from which her mother and father had graduated with their medical degrees. She received her own bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery degrees from the college in 2015.

“That helped me to understand what my parents went through as immigrants to this country,” Raghid said.

Raghid returned to the United States with a degree – and the realization of a remarkable coincidence. In 2011, she’d met a fellow student whose home was in California but who’d enrolled at the school in Pakistan for the same reason – his father had been a graduate. 

Raghid and that fellow student, Tabish Naz – who married in 2017 – now live in Kalamazoo, where he is completing his medical residency.

“I like that we’re into the same things,” Raghid said of her husband. “We understand each other. We enjoy talking to each other about work and spending time with one another.” 

As if to round out the family medical picture, Raghid’s younger sister also was smitten with the medical arts and recently graduated from medical school. 

For her own part, Raghid went on to receive post-graduate training at Western Michigan University’s Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo. She also has received fellowship training in advanced women’s health and surgical and high-risk obstetrics at the University of Tennessee. 

Raghid comes to Oaklawn after serving as chief resident in the family medicine program at the Stryker school. She is certified by the Diplomate American Board of Family Physicians, the Diplomate American Board of Obesity Medicine. 

Raghid – who is fluent in English, Urdu and Hindi – is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Obesity Medicine Association.. She has taught classes in obesity management, high-risk pregnancies, breast-feeding and asthma management. 

In her spare time, Raghid enjoys biking, hiking, exercising in her new home gym and reading – particularly biographies and, more recently, fiction. In recent weeks she has spent time gaining greater familiarity with the Calhoun County region and its residents. 

“I did my residency in Kalamazoo for three years and have just recently moved back, but I got used to the Michigan area in general,” she said, adding that people she worked with during her residency suggested she would fit in well as a member of Oaklawn’s medical team. 

“It’s a really pleasant area, close-knit, really nice and friendly,” said the former New York-area resident. “In fact, it ‘s pretty much exactly what I was looking for, because I didn’t want to be in a large community. I’m not used to that way of life any more. Plus, it’s good to have that kind of close relationship with your patients.”