To honor minority professionals in the healthcare field, the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) hosted the Black Men in Medicine event Feb. 27.

Lorna Scaife, academic adviser for student support services and faculty adviser for MAPS, said the Black Men in Medicine event exposes students to professionals in the healthcare field who are minorities.

“Students see those who look like them and they’ve made it,” Scaife said. “They can talk to them about their journey, any difficulties they’ve had and for any advice or tips.”

The event, held in the Mockingbird Room of the Reng Student Union, had five speakers:

anesthetist Michael Agbor; physical therapist Dejuan Daniel; dentist Albert Gruber; pediatrician Kris Nwokeji; and speech-language pathologist Charles Ratcliff.

Each speaker introduced themselves and spoke on their experiences as minorities in the medical field. Afterward, the speakers sat down with students for more in-depth discussions.

Daniel said the turnout for the event was outstanding.

“There’s not enough people that look like us in the hospital,” Daniel said. “It’s our duty at this table to get more of you guys in there.”

Armari Jackson, MAPS president and junior biology major from McGehee, Arkansas, said the event gives students opportunities for mentorships, job shadowing and advice from medical professionals. Jackson said since there are so few minorities with careers in healthcare, she wants to introduce MAPS members to people who are diversifying the medical field.

“We want to put them (MAPS members) in rooms where they may or may not have ever met someone who is a Black male in medicine. I think they bring a perspective that your common medical professional may not bring,” Jackson said.

Louis Gonzalez, a sophomore biology major from Kansas City, Missouri, said he enjoyed listening to Nwokeji speak about his life and the practices he’s opened.

“One of the major things Dr. Kris was speaking on was to never give up,” Gonzalez said. “Even though I want to give up and I’m tired and want to go to sleep, I can’t give up. You have to keep going.”

Gonzalez said he is going to try to secure a shadowing or internship opportunity with Nwokeji.

Gruber said he spoke at the event because he wanted to share his experience and be a mentor. He said he thinks the challenges that face minorities should not deter them from achieving their goals.

“I want to start that fire or create that fire in an individual,” Gruber said. “You don’t have to do fantastic things, if you just change the life of one person you change the world.”

Scaife said MAPS wanted to honor minority professionals in the healthcare field for Black History Month and allow MAPS members to hear from and speak with these professionals. She said it was important for minorities to seek positions in the healthcare field.

“Studies show that minorities are more likely to seek medical treatment when there are medical professionals who look like them,” Scaife said. “Since there’s a shortage of minorities in the healthcare field, we want to support our students who are interested in pre-med and let them know you can do that.”

Scaife said lack of exposure is one of the biggest challenges minorities face when attempting to enter the medical field. She said many minorities have no family in the medical field so they often lack mentors to guide them to a career in healthcare.

Jackson said being in an organization like MAPS exposes her to minorities with jobs in healthcare and allows her to receive guidance from them. 

The MAPS president said the Black Men in Medicine event is part of this semester’s event series, titled “Thursdates with MAPS”. She said MAPS will host the Med School Speed Dating event this Thursday. 

Jackson said students interested in MAPS can get involved by submitting an application available on the organization’s Instagram, @astatemaps.

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