NEWS IN A FLASH — JEFFERSON MEDICAL ONCOLOGY ISSUE 1 | NOVEMBER 2022 | DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
SKCC COLLABORATION WITH STEP-UP MEDICINE PROVIDES MENTORSHIP FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS By Dina Alnabulsi This summer, SKCC partnered with STEP-UP Medicine, an all-encompassing and rigorous summer enrichment program offered by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Led by Drs. Bernard Lopez and Ronald Hall and Sabrina Roper, the program aims is to provide students who are underrepresented in medicine with the opportunity to explore various healthcare settings, clinical experiences, and mentorship for pursuing a career in healthcare. Students met with Edith Mitchell, MD, SKCC Assistant Director for Cancer Health Disparities and attended a mentorship panel with Daniel Lin, MS, MD, and Sarah Gordon, DO. Dr. Mitchell spoke about the importance of having diversity in medicine and achieving equity in healthcare. Drs. Lin and Gordon explained their roles as medical oncologists, discussed the advancements in cancer care, and shared their lived insights with the students. Additionally, students had the opportunity to ask questions about the panelists’ journey toward a career in medicine. Two students shared their experiences and thoughts on the mentorship panel. Baiy-
ee-Ndang Agbor-Baiyee, a senior at Howard University, explained it was a “wonderful experience and very informative, I would go to another one if given the opportunity!” T. Delray Harris, who is also a senior at Howard University shared, “Regarding the mentorship panel, I really enjoyed them coming and talking with us and not necessarily at us. They seemed very down to earth, and more so fielded a lot of questions with honesty and seemed informative about some of the huge differences in terms of treatment (it’s rapidly changing!) I also liked how they shared some insight on how their experiences were similar, but also different (college experience, residency, etc.).” Following the panel discussion, Pierce Hodges, an undergraduate senior at Howard University shadowed Babar Bashir, MD, in medical oncology. He reflected, “Both the mentorship panel and medical oncology shadowing experiences were eye-opening to me. Beginning with the mentorship panel, my biggest takeaway was the importance of having a passion for and connection to the patients. The stories and anecdotes shared by each of the doctors showed me how much fulfillment a career in oncology gives you. As I finished the afternoon by shad-
owing Dr. Babar Bashir, I had the opportunity to watch him examine both new and existing patients. The chance to watch Dr. Bashir examine his patients with care and utmost bedside manner showed me the importance of putting patients first. I truly enjoyed these experiences and am thankful to all who helped make them happen.” “We are looking forward to future collaborations between SKCC and STEP-UP Medicine,” remarked Ana Maria Lopez, MD, MPH, SKCC Assistant Director for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “By working together to mentor and support underrepresented students in their pursuit of a health profession, we will expand our reach.” Dina Alnabulsi is an undergrad at the University of Connecticut and works with Dr. Lopez in the Department of Medical Oncology.
Howard University student participants (l to r): T. Delray Harris, Pierce Hodges, and Baiyee-Ndang Agbor-Baiyee