A group of 25 Black and Hispanic students receive hands-on lessons from pediatric experts Wednesday as part of a Juneteenth learning event at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
The students from the I Am Abel Foundation’s Urban Bridges Medical Mentoring program, which provides underserved high school and post-grad students seeking a career in medicine a chance to learn directly from experts.
At least twice a year, Advocate Children’s Hospital brings students from the foundation to practice skills they will need to hone once in medical school.
The students partnered with doctors to practice IV placement, intubation, CPR, AED use among other skills in the simulation lab of the hospital.
Dr. LaMenta Conway, the founder of I Am Abel, said she was inspired to help young people in underserved communities pursue medicine after her 14-year-old cousin was paralyzed during a shootout near his home in Englewood. Then six months later, Conway lost another one of her cousins to gun violence.
“It was just this moment that let me know that there was no mentoring in the community,” Conway said. “There was no resources, not in every community, but definitely not in this community, because this was a kid that wanted more.”
Conway said the program started with 30 students, and has since grown to more than 300.
Tiffany Hicks, a Loyola graduate, was pursuing a public health degree before she discovered I Am Abel. Now, Hicks will be a first year medical student in the fall.
Hicks started the mentorship program in 2017, and said support from her mentor greatly benefited her pursuit of medicine.
“I don’t think I would have gotten through if I didn’t have Dr. Conway to really, like help kind of guide me through because I hadn’t seen a position with a person of color,” Hicks said.
Hicks said she hopes to change health care laws so hospitals in underserved communities have access to the resources needed for proper care.
Through the I Am Abel Foundation’s program, students partner with mentors in the medical field that guide them through their pursuit of a doctorate degree.
Conway said each year, those that choose the mentorship program participate in Saturday Morning Professor, where Chicago-based doctors teach the students clinical skills they will use both in the field and while pursuing their degree.
Zenin Miller, a 21-year-old student from Chicago, joined the mentorship program in 2017 during his second year of high school.
Zenin Miller, left, and Joseph Hernandez, talk with Dr. Jeremy Daigle June 19, 2024, after a simulation at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Daily Southtown)
“I knew that I wanted to become a doctor, and I was looking online for places where minorities fit into being a doctor,” Miller said. “And they’ve sort of taken me under their wing and helped me along the process to medical school.”
According to a 2022 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, the majority of physicians in the U.S., 63.9%, are white.
Conway said the nonprofit seeks to address this gap by supporting minority students often overlooked in medicine and promoting their success.
Miller takes the Medical College Admission Test in August, and attributes his success to the foundation’s program, which he says helped him through his pre-med program at the University of Chicago.
“It’s seeing more people like me so I know that I’m not alone in all this medical school,” Miller said.
smoilanen@chicagotribune.com
