DiverseMedicine Inc. is an online mentoring institution founded by Dale Okorodudu, MD, a third-year internal medicine resident at Duke University. Led by a team of young physicians at Duke and across the nation, this organization connects students interested in medicine with physician mentors in order to promote diversity in medicine. In the following essay, Dr. Okorodudu highlights the innovative process behind DiverseMedicine Inc.:
Founded in 2011, DiverseMedicine Inc. has gone from a dream to a successful medium for mentoring and educating premedical students. Via its one of a kind Web-based institution, DiverseMedicine provides guidance to any and all individuals pursuing a career in the medical field. The primary objective of the organization is to counsel students at all levels of education who are interested in caring for underserved populations. By mentoring such students, we are promoting better health care for all!
The term mentor is commonly confused with advisor. The key difference between the two is that anyone can give a single piece of advice, but to qualify as a mentor, one has to invest resources, primarily in the forms of time and knowledge. To make a true impact, a mentor must have a genuine interest in the success of his or her mentee. Ask any physician and he or she will tell you of a mentor who affected their career. Not a single one of us became a doctor without that intangible guidance. DiverseMedicine believes that as opposed to a lack of interest or lack of intelligence among underrepresented students, the reason for the slow expansion of diversity in the medical field is lack of mentoring.
Too often it seems, physicians struggle to establish their own careers, and once there, they become excessively busy. To maintain a patient panel, conduct high quality research and teach requires a significant time commitment that ultimately makes mentoring (which in itself is not financially compensated and has little tangible rewards) a lesser priority. Understanding this challenge, DiverseMedicine aims to make mentoring feasible for those with the desire to do so. In less than two minutes, a physician can register with the website. Once a member, the physician can choose if they want to be a mentor (i.e. if they would be willing to accept a student mentee whom they would interact with via our website) or if they would rather make their contribution via taking part in Q&A forums as their schedule permits. If a physician should accept a student to mentor, this can be done with a time commitment of less than 20 minutes a month via various website functions including instant messaging, in-boxing, and live video chat.
DiverseMedicine Inc. has several hundred members and is rapidly growing. Great interest has been shown toward the online mentoring institution with invitations to present at the Latino Medical Student Association National Conference, Annual Medical Education Conference National Conference, and partnership with the Student National Medical Association. Also, with Duke University leading the way, great support has been received from various academic institutions.
The organization has taken part in discussions on a national level regarding better coordination of mentoring efforts in underrepresented populations, and there is a clear consensus that innovative ways to achieve this goal are necessary. DiverseMedicine Inc. seeks to be the primary online hub for mentoring underrepresented premedical students and hopes to serve as the key link in unifying national efforts. Future directions for the organization also include scholarship opportunities for mentees, establishing a database for medical schools that demonstrate interest in promoting diversity, and developing structured mentoring curriculums to equip all physicians with the ability to guide the next generation of doctors.
Visit our website at www.DiverseMedicine.org.
This essay is part of a series on diversity in medicine, as Duke University marks the 50th anniversary of the first black undergraduates with a campus-wide, nine-month commemoration: Celebrating the Past, Changing the Future: Commemorating 50 Years of Black Students at Duke. The Department of Medicine has begun collecting essays and interviews on diversity in medicine from current residents and fellows as a way to reflect upon this anniversary. Here is a link to the first installment and a link to Duke Magazine's coverage.
We encourage you to participate in this conversation by submitting a quote, memory or essay on diversity. Please contact Anton Zuiker or Elizabeth McCamic for more information.
DiverseMedicine Inc. is an online mentoring institution founded by Dale Okorodudu, MD, a third-year internal medicine resident at Duke University. Led by a team of young physicians at Duke and across the nation, this organization connects students interested in medicine with physician mentors in order to promote diversity in medicine. In the following essay, Dr. Okorodudu highlights the innovative process behind DiverseMedicine Inc.:
Founded in 2011, DiverseMedicine Inc. has gone from a dream to a successful medium for mentoring and educating premedical students. Via its one of a kind Web-based institution, DiverseMedicine provides guidance to any and all individuals pursuing a career in the medical field. The primary objective of the organization is to counsel students at all levels of education who are interested in caring for underserved populations. By mentoring such students, we are promoting better health care for all!
The term mentor is commonly confused with advisor. The key difference between the two is that anyone can give a single piece of advice, but to qualify as a mentor, one has to invest resources, primarily in the forms of time and knowledge. To make a true impact, a mentor must have a genuine interest in the success of his or her mentee. Ask any physician and he or she will tell you of a mentor who affected their career. Not a single one of us became a doctor without that intangible guidance. DiverseMedicine believes that as opposed to a lack of interest or lack of intelligence among underrepresented students, the reason for the slow expansion of diversity in the medical field is lack of mentoring.
Too often it seems, physicians struggle to establish their own careers, and once there, they become excessively busy. To maintain a patient panel, conduct high quality research and teach requires a significant time commitment that ultimately makes mentoring (which in itself is not financially compensated and has little tangible rewards) a lesser priority. Understanding this challenge, DiverseMedicine aims to make mentoring feasible for those with the desire to do so. In less than two minutes, a physician can register with the website. Once a member, the physician can choose if they want to be a mentor (i.e. if they would be willing to accept a student mentee whom they would interact with via our website) or if they would rather make their contribution via taking part in Q&A forums as their schedule permits. If a physician should accept a student to mentor, this can be done with a time commitment of less than 20 minutes a month via various website functions including instant messaging, in-boxing, and live video chat.
DiverseMedicine Inc. has several hundred members and is rapidly growing. Great interest has been shown toward the online mentoring institution with invitations to present at the Latino Medical Student Association National Conference, Annual Medical Education Conference National Conference, and partnership with the Student National Medical Association. Also, with Duke University leading the way, great support has been received from various academic institutions.
The organization has taken part in discussions on a national level regarding better coordination of mentoring efforts in underrepresented populations, and there is a clear consensus that innovative ways to achieve this goal are necessary. DiverseMedicine Inc. seeks to be the primary online hub for mentoring underrepresented premedical students and hopes to serve as the key link in unifying national efforts. Future directions for the organization also include scholarship opportunities for mentees, establishing a database for medical schools that demonstrate interest in promoting diversity, and developing structured mentoring curriculums to equip all physicians with the ability to guide the next generation of doctors.
Visit our website at www.DiverseMedicine.org.
This essay is part of a series on diversity in medicine, as Duke University marks the 50th anniversary of the first black undergraduates with a campus-wide, nine-month commemoration: Celebrating the Past, Changing the Future: Commemorating 50 Years of Black Students at Duke. The Department of Medicine has begun collecting essays and interviews on diversity in medicine from current residents and fellows as a way to reflect upon this anniversary. Here is a link to the first installment and a link to Duke Magazine's coverage.
We encourage you to participate in this conversation by submitting a quote, memory or essay on diversity. Please contact Anton Zuiker or Elizabeth McCamic for more information.