Residents at the GW Hospital are featured in advertisements unveiled last month as part of the American Association of Medical Colleges new minority outreach program.
The Web site-based program, called AspiringDocs.org, targets "underrepresented minorities" like blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans. Combined, these ethnic groups make up 25 percent of the American population but they are represented by only 12 percent of medical school applicants and by only 6 percent of practicing physicians, according to the AAMC. The outreach is a reaction to a study that found these minorities are applying to medical school at increasingly lower rates.
Khalil Johnson, one of the featured students, said he hopes the advertisements he posed for inspire students who may be discouraged. The GW residents featured in the AspiringDocs.org advertising are identified by their medical schools.
"It brings me much satisfaction knowing that my participation may play a role in encouraging someone to become a physician who may have previously thought they could not do it," Johnson said in an e-mail.
The advertisements feature residents from underrepresented minority groups. Each resident's story of overcoming challenges on their journey to medical school are on the Web site.
Assistant Dean for GW Medical School Admissions Diane McQuail said GW's residents, who come from medical schools all over the country, may be more diverse because of the unique opportunity working in D.C. offers.
"I think the fact that we are where we are, in the nation's capital, which is an extremely diverse city, (gives) a lot of opportunity to serve the underserved, which are the large number of African Americans in D.C.," McQuail said.
Elisa K. Siegel, AAMC senior vice president for Communications, said because GW's residents came from so many backgrounds, the AAMC used them exclusively in the advertisements. GW was the first medical program they tried because of its proximity to their national headquarters in D.C.
The Web site-based program, called AspiringDocs.org, targets "underrepresented minorities" like blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans. Combined, these ethnic groups make up 25 percent of the American population but they are represented by only 12 percent of medical school applicants and by only 6 percent of practicing physicians, according to the AAMC. The outreach is a reaction to a study that found these minorities are applying to medical school at increasingly lower rates.
Khalil Johnson, one of the featured students, said he hopes the advertisements he posed for inspire students who may be discouraged. The GW residents featured in the AspiringDocs.org advertising are identified by their medical schools.
"It brings me much satisfaction knowing that my participation may play a role in encouraging someone to become a physician who may have previously thought they could not do it," Johnson said in an e-mail.
The advertisements feature residents from underrepresented minority groups. Each resident's story of overcoming challenges on their journey to medical school are on the Web site.
Assistant Dean for GW Medical School Admissions Diane McQuail said GW's residents, who come from medical schools all over the country, may be more diverse because of the unique opportunity working in D.C. offers.
"I think the fact that we are where we are, in the nation's capital, which is an extremely diverse city, (gives) a lot of opportunity to serve the underserved, which are the large number of African Americans in D.C.," McQuail said.
Elisa K. Siegel, AAMC senior vice president for Communications, said because GW's residents came from so many backgrounds, the AAMC used them exclusively in the advertisements. GW was the first medical program they tried because of its proximity to their national headquarters in D.C.
