Background
Patients R Waiting is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating health disparities by increasing diversity in medicine. Through 3 areas of focus: increasing the pipeline of minority clinicians, making the pipeline less leaky and supporting minority clinicians in practice, Patients R Waiting is building the healthcare workforce that Lancaster (and the country) needs. For the past decade, the organization has supported under-represented minority students (URM) aspiring to become physicians. When the COVID 19 pandemic brought racial health disparities to the forefront of national conversations, Patients R Waiting added programs such as a mental health initiative, a Doula program and COVID vaccination efforts to have more immediate impact.
What does PRW actually do?
Since 2011, We have been working to guide, direct and mentor pre-medical students through their educational journeys. Dr. Hamblin, our Founder/President went to Franklin & Marshall College, so when she came back to Lancaster in 2011, she immediately wanted to help students at her alma mater, like people helped her along the way. Over time, informal efforts with individual students grew into formal collaborations with the College and eventually into an independent nonprofit organization.
“Only 5% of all physicians in the US are Black, and that number hasn’t budged in about 50 years. I knew there was nothing wrong with me and at the same time, I knew that I wasn’t so special, that no one could do what I did. Whether working with elementary school children for a camp, helping a college student choose what medical schools to apply to, or helping a student rebuild their confidence after a difficult exam, we keep the idea of a student’s potential at the forefront of our minds. I can’t count how many times a patient has told me that I am the first Black doctor they have had or that I am the first doctor who they feel comfortable with. People deserve better than that.” – Dr. Cherise Hamblin, Founder/ President
Why Lancaster?
The organization formed and grew organically. Before PRW had a name, it was an initiative, largely responding to Black Franklin & Marshall students’ requests for panel discussions with Black physicians and advice. Over time, it became clear that there were challenges that went beyond the local community. Black premed students everywhere were struggling to find mentors, resources, information and support.
What are some of your programs?
Most people in Lancaster know us through our COVID vaccination work. Having family and friends die of COVID 19 early on in the pandemic, and even after vaccination was available, made the situation even more urgent for us as an organization. The impact of health disparities, different health outcomes for different groups of people, was not theoretical or even population based. It was palpable, real life and tragic.
“The day I got my first dose of the COVID vaccine, my beloved friend, George LeGrande Janvier, died of COVID in the Bronx. Attending his funeral by Zoom was a gut wrenching experience, which made my desire to help make COVID vaccination accessible and desirable to people in our community.” Dr. Cherise Hamblin, Founder/ President
Throughout the pandemic we have had pop up vaccine drives around Lancaster, music festivals with preventative resources for our community and brought organizations together, helping to bridge gaps where we could. As important as vaccination is, we have also worked to answer questions and make sure that people are informed about resources for testing and treatment.
The mainstay of our work, though, is with students. Our Pipeline Dreams High School Health Careers Explorations program provides exposure, inspiration and an intensive experience for students to build on during their journeys to a career in healthcare. PRW is proud to invest in the futures of high school juniors and seniors from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine through this program. Initially this program was only for Lancaster students. During the pandemic, the program pivoted to a hybrid format and expanded to students across the country. Just shy of 100 high school students, from Lancaster all the way to Berkeley, California have gone through this 12 week exposure based program. The program was born out of a partnership between Attollo Prep and Patients R Waiting in 2019. Dr. Hamblin and Karisa Augustine, a UC Berkeley alumni and Attollo Fellow at the time, developed the curriculum out of “all the things we wish we knew ” as Black and brown teenagers navigating a future career in medicine and research in high school and college. With just 5% of physicians being Black, and that number not budging in over 50 years, it is clear that increasing diversity in medicine is not simply a matter of time. A 2015 study of the Science of Engineering Doctors showed that the biggest predictor of getting a PhD is the education level of parents. Patients R Waiting is a disruptor. The work we are undertaking is an effort to alter the trajectory of the community.
We will be recruiting students for our Spring 2023 cohort this fall! next program in January -April, 2023!!
Diversity in Medicine Conference
This annual conference brings students from racial and ethnic backgrounds that are underrepresented in medicine together for a weekend of instruction and inspiration around careers in medicine and health fields. In previous years, the conference was held at Franklin & Marshall College and UPMC Lititz. Each year we have grown the attendance by at least 100% and expanded what was offered to attendees from around the region and country.
Our conference is designed by experienced health professionals of color with the needs of underrepresented students preparing for careers in medicine and other health professions in mind. The journey to a career in medicine is a marathon, not a sprint.
The 6th annual Diversity in Medicine conference will be taking place on September 23rd- September 25th, 2022. The event will kick off with a community blood drive Crispus Attucks Community Center, the Saturday program will be taking place at Pennsylvania College of Health Science, bringing together a keynote speaker, physicians, medical students, scientists, researchers, and other health professionals with vital information, guidance, and inspiration. The day will feature various panel discussions, hands-on experiences, a graduate school recruitment expo, and in-depth preparation sessions for pre medical students. Saturday night we will feature a free screening of the documentary “Black Men in White Coats,” at Franklin and Marshall College, for the community to enjoy. We want to engage the entire community in this work to perpetuate change within the field of medicine. We will close out the conference weekend with a golf fundraiser at Overlook Golf Course. Tickets are available on eventbrite.
Why is PRW important to the Lancaster community?
PRW is focused on helping students of color become physicians and healers. By harnessing the untapped and underdeveloped potential within our own community, we can heal ourselves. There are doctors, dentists, scientists, pharmacists and inventors among us. If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything it is that we must come together as a community and be the change that we want to see.
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