Recently, the New Pittsburgh Courier published an article (PDF) featuring the Gateway Medical Society (GMS) “Journey to Medicine” (JTM) program, 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 GMS Academic Mentorship Program will host 70 students ranging from sixth to ninth graders when the 2013 session starts in mid-February. In 2012, GMS won the James Whittico, MD Award for Exceptional Mentorship from the National Medical Association and was awarded a decree of Excellence by the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education, who also presented all the students with a Distinguished Achievement Award. JTM captured the attention of the President of the National Medical Society, who recently visited Pittsburgh to study the program to see if similar efforts could be started in other parts of the country.
The University of Pittsburgh/UPMC Department of Anesthesiology is involved in JTM program; Visiting Clinical Associate Professor William Simmons, MD is the President of the Gateway Medical Society (GMS) and The Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation Education and Research (WISER) has hosted numerous JTM workshops.