A LITTLE GUIDANCE CAN HELP YOU
ACHIEVE YOUR POTENTIAL
About Us
Being a womxn in medicine is challenging. In 2020, womxn made up 43% of physician-scientist trainees (AAMC). This gap also extends towards academic medicine and leadership. Currently, 36% of physicians in the United States are womxn; however, they only make up 18% of hospital CEOs and 16% of deans and academic chairs (Harvard Business Review). These numbers represent a disparity that has existed since the beginning of medicine, as womxn make up approximately half of the U.S. population.
The Mentorship Program for Womxn in Medicine and Research is dedicated to mentoring and inspiring womxn pre-medical students who come from marginalized backgrounds (Womxn of Color, first generation student, low socioeconomic status, and/or LGBTQIA+). We recognize the additional challenges that womxn face based on race, income, sexuality, and citizenship. Experiencing these barriers not only discourage womxn from pursuing careers in medicine and research, but they can also have lasting effects on the rest of their educational opportunities in the future.
Our mission is dedicated to supporting them throughout their medical journey. We aspire to help the next generation of womxn in medicine, research, and leadership through long-term mentorship, networking, professional development workshops, and collaborations with key community leaders and organizations.
Who Are our mentors?
We aim to provide world-class mentorship to our students. Our organization is very fortunate to recruit amazing physician-scientist trainees and medical students to help mentor the next generation of womxn medical leaders.
With our vast experience, we want to impact the next generation of scholars and give a helping hand to those who are under-resourced. Sometimes, life provides obstacles that prevent people from achieving their potential. We’re here to change that.
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Does your mentorship have any costs?Zero. In addition, we do not accept funding: we are a group of mentors dedicated to the goal of helping students from vulnerable backgrounds (under-resourced, Person of Color, LGBTQIA+, etc.). We rely entirely on volunteer work, and our mentors want to leave legacy.
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Is there a GPA requirement for mentees?No, we understand that our mentees may have unique circumstances that prevent them from achieving a high GPA or exam score. Some mentees have to work long hours to help out the family, while others have to take care of ill relatives. We do believe that every mentee has the capability to achieve their full potential, and that mentorship can greatly benefit our students. Therefore, we take a holistic approach when bringing aboard a new mentee, and we do our very best to find top notch mentors who are also in the same career interests.
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I really want to be connected with a mentor who goes to my dream medical school. Can I be matched with them?We will try our best to match you to your preferences. However, we want to provide high-quality mentorship; therefore, we prioritize the mentor’s past experiences, accomplishments, and obstacles that they have overcome over the name or ranking of their institution. Overall, we do want our mentees to attend amazing medical schools, but we also want them to do very well in pre-med journey and beyond.
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How do you recruit your mentors?Our organization works very hard to identify and invite amazing individuals who have great potential in becoming a mentor. Our med school mentors are chosen based on their high caliber, dedication to their community, and previous mentoring experiences.
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My mentor and I just don’t click. What's next?To ensure mentorship relationships are going smoothly, we also have managers dedicated to resolving any issues or concerns. If intervention of our manager and executive board doesn’t work, then we can assign different mentors and mentees -- if possible.
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What is the time commitment?Ultimately, we want to build mentorship relationships, organically. Therefore, mentorship meetings are based on the mentor's and your mentee’s schedules. Nonetheless, we do recommend that mentors plan at least one hour per month for each mentee.
