“Gateway Medical Society Inc. — Closing the Gap,” written by William Simmons MD, Visiting Clinical Associate Professor and also President of the Gateway Medical Society (GMS), was published in the April Bulletin (page 168) of the Allegheny County Medical Society (ACMS). Dr. Simmon’s article explains numerous GMS efforts to address racial and ethnic disparities in health care and increase the number of minorities in the medical field.
One of the GMS programs that Dr. Simmons describes in his article, the Journey to Medicine Program (JTM), is a precollege academic mentorship program for African American males in grades six and up. The program aims to increase the number of minority males on the path toward careers in medicine by reaching students early in their schooling. The Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation Education and Research (WISER) has hosted numerous JTM workshops.
Dr. Simmons became GMS President on January 1, 2012. Dr. Simmons also co-chairs the UPMC/University of Pittsburgh Physician Inclusion Council Recruitment Committee and chairs the Department of Anesthesiology’s Diversity Advisory Committee.