We aim to increase access for talented and motivated African American, Hispanic, and Latino students, to help them achieve their career potential in medicine and support their return to medically underserved communities, helping to mitigate the shortage of clinicians of color in the United States.
The African American, Hispanic, and Latino communities have long experienced inequities in educational opportunities. These inequities are attributed to many factors including economic barriers, limited community resources, underfunded for schools, and more. As a result, underrepresented students who aspire to become doctors face significant obstacles on the pathway to their goals, which perpetuates the lack of diversity in medicine and in turn lowers the overall quality of care for patients of color, who report better outcomes and improved communication and trust when seeing doctors of color.
Educational barriers greatly impact students’ chances of success, which is reflected in today’s medical school acceptances. Although the number of underrepresented students who apply to medical schools has increased by 80%, the acceptance rate remains fairly stagnant.
The disparity in wealth by race in the United States is one of the root causes of this problem. Underfunded and underrepresented communities are ill-equipped to provide their students with the necessary educational opportunities, mentorship, and resources to succeed in medicine.
By providing educationally underserved students the necessary resources to succeed, through mentoring, internship opportunities, and other training support, starting in high school and continuing through medical school, the Pathway Initiative seeks to show students the possibilities of a career in medicine–and to provide the helping hand to make that career a reality.
I certainly wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in if it weren’t for mentors at every step of the way. We as black male doctors need to do more to provide mentorship.
We can’t pull up the ladder on those coming up behind us. We need to make sure that ladder is there and we’re helping people up the ladder.”
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard University
Physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, MA
The Pathway Initiative currently works with students in Massachusetts, with the goal of expanding to support students from underserved communities nationwide. The Pathway Initiative is working hard to prevent the further decline in the amount of Black and Brown medical students and certified clinicians. This lack of representation in the medical field leads to further healthcare disparities in distressed and already marginalized communities.
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