Voices of Diversity
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Perspectives: HBCUs and applying to Medical school
Many students, including myself, have asked the question as to whether going to a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) will hinder their chances of getting accepted into medical school. In short, the answer is no. Generally, admissions committees do rate certain schools’ GPAs as more competitive than others. Even though admission committees may have [...]
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Attending a combined Undergraduate/M.D Program; Is it right for me?
By: Lekeisha Terrell, MD When I tell people I went to a 6-year accelerated combined undergraduate medical school, I usually get one of two responses: People have never heard of it before, thinking I’m some kind of Doogie Howser, or they turn their nose up at me thinking my education was not as good as [...]
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Day 6: Mentor Perspectives – The Importance of Support Systems
As we ended the Tour for Diversity with our inaugural program for high school students, I realized a common theme had presented itself. During my conversations with students, advisors, faculty, and parents, the topic of support continuously threaded itself into the discussions throughout the day. Having multiple support networks is essential to be successful, but [...]
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Day 5: Mentor Perspective – A foreign medical school?… Reallly?
For those of you who may not know, this was my first time on the Tour For Diversity in Medicine. I’m going to share a secret with you… At first I was apprehensive to apply to join the tour. Did I really have a story? Would mine be a path people should follow? Would [...]
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Day 5: Mentor Perspective – Was I blinded by science?
Over the past five days, one question from students stands out the most: “Do I need to be a science major to get into medical school?” The answer to this question is no. In general, most medical schools require that you take prerequisite courses (i.e. physics, english, biology, general and organic chemistry) as well as [...]
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Day 4: Mentor Perspective: Parents just don’t understand… or do they?
When deciding to go into a career in the health professions, one of the first people that student should share that information is with their parents. During the course of this tour we have heard from a number of students asking how to talk to their families and explain that they want to become a [...]
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Day 4: Mentor Perspective: The hard interview questions
Delaware State University was a great stop! A group of motivated and eager young men and women showed out; proving once again that while there may be a shortage of underrepresented minority physicians and dentists, there is certainly no shortage of underrepresented minority students willing and able to become health professionals. During our lunchtime discussions, [...]
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Day 3: Mentor Perspective – Leveling the playing field: A new day for podiatry
There are many misconceptions about podiatrist and why someone would choose this profession over allopathic and osteopathic medicine. The days of assuming podiatrist ONLY cut toenails, trim calluses, correct hammertoes, and fix bunions are extinct. While those entities may be seen routinely in a podiatry practice, podiatric physicians and surgeons are skilled in much more. [...]
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Day 3: Mentor Perspective – Why did I choose Dentistry
I was asked today why did I choose dentistry, how did I become a dental faculty member, and what’s next. I had to pause and reflect. That’s a loaded question. Dentistry fell upon me. I originally planned to be a pediatrician. Junior year at Howard University, I switched direction after a presentation by the dean of [...]
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Day 2: Mentor Perspective – Failure: Stumble with no loss of enthusiasm
For this post on day 2 of the 4th T4D trip, I want to make a confession: I accept that I fail. In fact, every mentor on the Tour can tell you about their own personal failures along their path in medicine. For some, it may have been the choices in college or their MCAT [...]
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