Black Men In White Coats: An Initiative To Increase The Number Of Black Men In Medical School

By: Sheila Callaham

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/sheilacallaham/2019/10/16/black-men-in-white-coats-an-initiative-to-increase-the-number-of-black-men-in-medical-school/

Mentoring, Mindset And Motivation For Black Youth

When Aaron Dotson was a young boy, he would accompany his mother to her physician’s appointments. He was fascinated with the doctor’s instruments and asked lots of questions typical of a curious child. Over the years, the African American doctor mentored Dotson, allowing him to shadow his daily routine and encouraging him to study hard so that he, too, could become a doctor.

Not many young black men like Dotson, now in his fourth year of medical school, have a black man in a white coat to model the example of what they can become. But he and other black medical students and physicians volunteer their time to the organization Black Men in White Coats (BMWC), with the mission to increase the number of black men in the field of medicine by exposure, inspiration and mentoring.

“It’s important for black men to see themselves as being more than a stereotype, more than someone who can only plays sports,” said Dotson. “We have the ability to achieve and accomplish anything that we want to in this world, and those of us already doing it need to be there to mentor others.”

It Takes a Village

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Dr. Dale Okorodudu launched Black Men in White Coats in response to a 2013 report from the ... [+] DALE OKORODUDU

BMWC was the vision of Dr. Dale Okorodudu, who launched the BMWC website six years ago after seeing a 2013 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) report that the already under-represented percentage of black men in medical school was dropping. While a 2017 AAMC report documented a 53 percent growth among black or African American female medical school graduates since 1986, male graduates had declined 39 percent. During the 2018-2019 academic year, the AAMC reported that medical school enrollment consisted of 7.1 percent black; however, less than half were men.

“To become a black man in a white coat, you must first see yourself capable of becoming one,” Okorodudu said. To create that vision, he has networked and partnered with students, physicians and medical schools across the country to expose black youth to the medical field and to provide necessary, ongoing mentorship.

On the BMWC website, Okorodudu posts podcasts and short video documentaries from both medical students and physicians–all expressly intended to inspire black youth that they, too, can become doctors. He’s written books for parents and children to further inspire and educate. He’s also created DiverseMedicine.org to increase ethnic and socioeconomic diversity within the field of medicine via mentoring and outreach.

Last year during Black History Month, Okorodudu and his team organized the first-ever BMWC Youth Summit at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Drawing more than 1,800 attendees, the daylong program offered info sessions for elementary through high school students and their parents and introduced different medical specialties. 

Always seeking ways to amplify his efforts, Okorodudu redesigned the event to make it more affordable and easily replicated across the country. BMWCx is a branded Ted Talk-style summit that can be independently organized by community leaders anywhere.

Okrodudu’s next goal is a documentary film that will tear down the false stereotypes of black men in America and demonstrate their potential. Projected for release in February 2021, Okorodudu’s quest is that the film not only be educational and inspirational, but it will also be entertaining.

A recent Kickstarter campaign quickly produced the $100,000 he needed to begin. “There’s still a long way to go,” he said, “but I’m really excited by this project because it has the potential to make a huge impact.”

Why BMWC Is Important

A recent Stanford Health Study showed that black men take more proactive health measures, such as flu shots and diabetes and cholesterol screenings, when treated by a black doctor. The randomized clinical trial among 1,300 black men in Oakland showed that 29 percent more were likely to talk with black doctors about other health problems and seeking more invasive screenings that likely required more trust in the person providing the service.

While African-Americans comprise about 13 percent of the population, only 4 percent of physicians and less than 6 percent of medical school graduates are black, according to the study.

“It was surprising to see the results,” said Marcella Alsan, an associate professor of medicine at Stanford Medicine, a faculty fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and an investigator at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. “Prior to doing the study, we really were not sure if there would be any effect, much less the magnitude. The signal in our data ended up being quite strong.”

Specifically, researchers calculated that increased screenings could total up to a 19 percent reduction in the black-white male cardiovascular mortality gap and an eight percent decline in the black-white life expectancy gap.

“In curative care, the patient feels ill and then may seek out medical care to fix the problem,” Alsan said. “But in preventive care, the patient may feel just fine — but must trust the doctor when he is told that certain measures must be taken to safeguard health.” 

Not only is there a shortage of black doctors, there is a shortage of physicians overall. An AAMC Health Care Utilization Equity analysis found that the U.S. would need an additional 95,900 doctors immediately if health care utilization patterns were equalized across race, insurance coverage, and geographic location. Black men, in particular, have the lowest life expectancy in the country.

To build a health care infrastructure that not only supports medical need but also aspires to reduce healthcare disparities, a pipeline of black male physicians is needed–and that requires exposing, mentoring and advocating on behalf of black male youth.

Medical School is a Journey of Commitment

Aaron Dotson is in his fourth year of medical school at the St. Louis University School of Medicine. ... [+] AARON DOTSON

Dotson, who plans to become an ophthalmologist, was already set to become a doctor when he met Okorodudu at a pre-med conference in 2015. Recently graduated from UT Dallas, Dotson was so impressed with Okorodudu and the BMWC mission that afterward, Dotson introduced himself.

“Since then, he’s served as a strong mentor for me, going through a lot of my medical school applications and connecting me with plenty of doctors that I still keep in contact with today,” said Dotson. “In return, I’ve supported the BMWC mission by mentoring dozens of students across the country.”

Dotson majored in neuroscience as an undergrad before beginning medical school. He’s in the process of applying for an Ophthalmology residency, which means four more years on top of the eight he’s already invested.

“And I'm likely looking to do a fellowship after that, which will be another one to two years, so it’s a big commitment,” he explained. “Medical school is not cheap; St. Louis University can run you about $50,000 per year in tuition alone.”

Dotson feels that the long commitment and financial obligation is one of the reasons black men never even consider becoming a doctor. “When you're looking at the amount of loans that you have to take out over the years, and you're not able to make a decent living until residency fellowship and begin to pay those loans back, it seems impossible to so many black men. It’s not an easy road at all; but for me, there is nothing on this planet that I want more than to become a doctor.”

Leaving Legacies

Okorodudu wants better health outcomes for black communities, but he’s thinking much bigger than that. He’s looking at impacting generations to come.

A big part of what I'm doing is changing the life of the person who becomes a physician. If I can convince a child that he can become a doctor, give him mentorship, guidance on how to access necessary resources and they become a doctor, that changes his life because he earns a physician's income. Now he’s in the top five percent of society, and that changes his kids' lives, changes his grandkids' lives–it changes his entire generational legacy.

Dr. Dale Okordudu

Okorodudu openly shares that he guided by his Christian faith and belief that, “To whom much is given, much is required.” He is grateful for all he has achieved and is committed to paying it forward. His hope is that those on the receiving end will do the same and that, in time, the black man’s world will look very different than it does today.