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| Warren Law III, a first-year medical student, and Trentyn Shaw, a second-year medical student, are vice president and president, respectively, of the USA College of Medicine's affiliate chapter of Black Men in White Coats. |
Only 2 percent of American doctors are Black men. Black men also have the lowest life expectancy of any major demographic group in the United States.
This correlation comes as no surprise to Johnson Haynes Jr., M.D., assistant dean of diversity and inclusion and professor of internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine.
He asks: “What if we had a medical workforce that actually reflected our patient population? What’s happening in society that more Black women are becoming doctors while Black men are stagnant?”
With the goal of increasing the number of Black men in the field of medicine, the USA College of Medicine has established an affiliate chapter of Black Men in White Coats. Mirroring the national organization’s mission, the local chapter seeks to accomplish this objective through exposure, inspiration and mentorship.
“Efforts such as this seek to dissect the systemic barriers preventing Black men from becoming medical doctors and the consequences on society at large,” said Haynes, who is the faculty sponsor for the new chapter. “Healthcare accounts for nearly 20 percent of the United States GDP, and a significant portion of that is driven by disparities in a system that lacks diverse physicians.”
Second-year medical student Trentyn Shaw serves as the USA College of Medicine affiliate chapter’s president. “Representation: a single word that holds so much weight. Accomplishing one's dream is a scary task on its own, but doing it alone can make it that much harder,” he said. “Being an example for young Black men who aspire to be physicians is something crucial. Having representation shows that their dreams are capable of being accomplished, and we are living proof that it is.”
Shaw said his aim as president is to help lead and build the chapter into one that will serve and mentor the community, “ushering in a new and bigger wave of Black doctors.”
Warren Law III, a first-year medical student and the chapter’s vice president, echoed Shaw’s goals for the organization. “Becoming a Black male physician may be difficult to imagine for Black men, because it is highly likely that they have never seen one before. Put simply, it is difficult to ‘be’ what you can’t ‘see,’” he said. “What I hope to accomplish as vice president of BMWC, is to afford young learners the ability to see what they very well can become.”
The USA College of Medicine’s affiliate chapter of Black Men in White Coats seeks members who are enrolled in, or have graduated from, professional school (medical, dental, veterinary or other health professions).
Chapter meetings will be held at least once every three months with the purpose of supporting one another and to plan activities that focus on exposing Black youth (boys and young men) to medicine and providing them with mentorship.
Through quarterly school visits, whether virtual or in-person, Haynes said the chapter plans to connect with local schools in partnership with the USA College of Medicine’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
In March, the USA College of Medicine hosted a virtual screening of the documentary “Black Men In White Coats,” followed by a panel discussion led by Black male physicians and medical students.
Contact Johnson Haynes Jr., M.D., at 251-341-4072 or jhaynes@health.southalabama.edu to join the USA College of Medicine’s affiliate chapter.
Learn more about Black Men in White Coats.
