2 minute read
S.E.A.R.C.H
More and more evidence is coming to light, showing just how important it can be to have a doctor who is from the same racial or ethnic background as their patients. The interactions go better, with patients seeming to be more willing to discuss their symptoms and pains with a doctor who looks like them. Importantly, medication adherence rates go up. At Nationwide Children’s, our goal is do what’s best for every patient that walks through our doors. To do so, we’ll need a workforce that represents, that looks like those very same patients. According to census data, the U.S. population is projected to become a majority-minority in 2045. The need to prepare and train healthcare professionals who are culturally responsive and equipped to provide quality care in a multicultural society is quickly expanding. Only about 9% of current physicians identify as Black or African American, Native American or Alaska Native, or Hispanic or Latino according to the latest data report released by the Association of American Medical Colleges. These numbers are even more alarming in a pediatric setting. Simply, pediatric healthcare institutions must create programs that encourage and bring underrepresented minorities into the healthcare profession. Nationwide Children’s Summer Education And Research in Clinical Healthcare (S.E.A.R.C.H) program introduces talented undergraduate students to the healthcare profession, with focus on both medicine and research.
Advertisement
Pipeline programs promote a diverse, culturally competent healthcare and biomedical research workforce to enhance patient care and ensure health equity. However, most pipeline efforts ignore the barriers that prevent targeted students from participating. The S.E.A.R.C.H program addresses those issues head-on with a comprehensive approach. Students are provided with stipends, housing, and travel reimbursements to ensure equitable access. During the six-week program, scholars are paired with a chief mentor, shadow different divisions of the hospital, and complete a capstone project.
The program provides experiences to students from diverse backgrounds, with focus on underrepresented minority students from economically disadvantaged and underserved communities and/or first-generation students. Students must have completed at least two years of full-time college-level education to qualify. We’re proud to have welcomed students from Bethune-Cookman University, Howard University, Tennessee State University, Capital University, and a number of other colleges from across the country. We know that this experience can play a formative role in a student’s future, and look forward to following their work for years to come.
MEET THE MENTORS:
Timothy Feltes MD, FACC, is a Pediatric Cardiologist and Cardiac Intensivist in The Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He holds the Andy Paxton Endowed Chair in Cardiology. He is also a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Long-Sheng Chang PhD, is a principal investigator for the Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases at The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dominique Williams MD, is a physician in the Section of Primary Care Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
