Tour for Diversity in Medicine and Aetna Foundation Rev Up Third Bus Tour to Mentor Med-School-Bound Minority Students

HARTFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Tour for Diversity in Medicine, a volunteer program started by two young doctors, will launch its third bus tour the week of February 11, this time traveling to six Texas universities to help minority students pursue careers in medicine and dentistry. Thanks to a grant from the Aetna Foundation, 15 doctors, dentists and medical school students from across the country will travel more than 1,000 miles to provide full-day, hands-on workshops to undergrad students on six different campuses.

“By offering student workshops with doctors who come from similar backgrounds, we are helping students overcome perceived barriers to entering the medical profession and showing them what steps they’ll need to take to build a fulfilling career.”

The Tour for Diversity in Medicine hopes to help diversify the health care profession by giving minority students the advice and tools they’ll need to pursue medical careers. Although African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans compose more than 26 percent of the U.S. population, they represent only 6 percent of practicing physicians and 5 percent of dentists, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 2011, African-American and Hispanic students made up only 15 percent of all U.S. medical school applicants.¹ Yet research shows that patients who receive care from doctors of the same background are more satisfied with their care and more engaged in their treatment.

“Not only does today’s physician workforce not reflect the growing diversity of our country, but this health equity gap is often most apparent in the at-risk minority communities that need help most. We are trying to make a tangible difference by going directly to students and showing them the changes that they can make for themselves and their communities by considering a career in medicine,” said Alden Landry, M.D., co-founder of the Tour for Diversity in Medicine and an emergency department physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “Our tours address the national need for a more diverse physician population at a grassroots level—school by school and student by student.”

The week of February 11, the Tour for Diversity in Medicine will travel to the following universities in Texas:

-- Monday, February 11											The University of Texas at El Paso
-- Tuesday, February 12											The University of Texas at San Antonio
-- Wednesday, February 13											Texas A&M International University, Laredo
-- Thursday, February 14											Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
-- Friday, February 15											Prairie View A&M University
-- Saturday, February 16											Texas Southern University, Houston

“As the United States becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, our nation’s health care providers must be able to respond to the wide variety of patient perspectives in order to provide the best possible care,” said Gillian Barclay, D.D.S., Dr.PH., the Aetna Foundation’s vice president and director of national grant making. “The Aetna Foundation is pleased to be a founding sponsor of the Tour for Diversity in Medicine and once again support these dedicated doctors as they help achieve more diversity in the next generation of health care providers. Our support for the tours is part of our ongoing work to develop health care leaders from underrepresented communities.”

About 150 students from each school are expected to participate in the full-day program. There are sessions on the medical school application process, admissions tests, financial aid, interviewing skills, and an overview of health disparities. Students will interact one-on-one with mentors who will offer personal insights and share their experiences about how to build a successful career in medicine or dentistry.

“We’re excited to be back on the road and traveling to Texas to reach Hispanic and African-American students. We recognize that many students may not have the resources or information to seek out medical school recruitment fairs on their own, so we come directly to campus to help spark interest in health care careers,” said Kameron Matthews, M.D., J.D., co-founder of the Tour for Diversity in Medicine and medical director of the Division Street site of Erie Family Health Center in Chicago. “By offering student workshops with doctors who come from similar backgrounds, we are helping students overcome perceived barriers to entering the medical profession and showing them what steps they’ll need to take to build a fulfilling career.”

Additional support for the Texas Tour comes from the U.S. Army, AAMC, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, and American Dental Education Association. For more information, follow the Tour for Diversity in Medicine on Facebook and Twitter @Tour4Diversity or visit tour4diversity.org.

About the Aetna Foundation

The Aetna Foundation, Inc. is the independent charitable and philanthropic arm of Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET). Since 1980, Aetna and the Aetna Foundation have contributed $413 million in grants and sponsorships, including $19.2 million in 2011. As a national health foundation, we promote wellness, health, and access to high-quality health care for everyone. This work is enhanced by the time and commitment of Aetna employees, who have volunteered more than 2.6 million -hours since 2003. Aetna’s current giving is focused on addressing the rising rate of adult and childhood obesity in the U.S.; promoting racial and ethnic equity in health and health care; and advancing integrated health care. For more information, visit www.AetnaFoundation.org.

About Tour for Diversity in Medicine

The Tour for Diversity in Medicine (T4D), a project of Hip Hop Health Inc., seeks to educate, inspire and cultivate future physicians of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds by forming local connections in order to fulfill a national need. Conceived by former medical student leaders, T4D will bring premedical enrichment activities to underrepresented minority undergraduate students in order to assist with the diversification of the health professions workforce. T4D is a grassroots effort, with its third tour in February 2013 focused on Texas universities. Visit tour4diversity.org for more information.

¹ Diversity in Medical Education: Facts & Figures 2012, The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)