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A Very Active Summer at NMF!
NMF is ecstatic to share its recent global and national work, including a salon dinner in partnership with Head and Heart Philanthropy held in Ghana and a fierce discussion at the Global Black Economic Forum/Essence Festival of Culture 2023. Keep scrolling to discover where NMF will be next and explore what’s happening behind the scenes!
NMF’s work is grounded in its Strategic Framework, and this newsletter
includes icons indicating the strategic pillars advanced.
Visit NMF at NMA!
Please stop by NMF’s table at the National Medical Association’s 2023 Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly in New Orleans! NMF will also be participating in Region V events. NMF President and CEO Michellene Davis, Esq. will take part in a panel, Policy Approaches to Advancing Health Equity, on the morning of Monday, July 31. Later that day, NMF Board Member and The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University Vice Dean for Medical Education and Admissions and Professor of Internal Medicine Dr. Cedric Bright will be speaking on a panel, Pathways and Pipeline to Medicine. We hope to see you soon!
ESSENCE Fest: Classifying Racism as a Public Health Crisis
Photo caption: Cliff Barnes, Michellene Davis, Esq., Dr. Aletha Maybank, and Dr. Cedric Bright at the Global Black Economic Forum 2023. Photo by Danielle Miles.
NMF was a force at the Essence Festival of Culture 2023, taking the stage at the Global Black Economic Forum Summit. The candid conversation broke down how racism in health care and the structural and systemic racism within are creating a health crisis among people of color and how to drive needed changes to health policies, laws, and resource allocation.
NMF in Ghana!
NMF President and CEO Michellene Davis, Esq. attended the Africa-America Institute’s 2023 Connecting the Diaspora Gathering in Ghana last month. In partnership with Mosaic Genius, NMF hosted a salon dinner, “Advancing Health Equity with National Medical Fellowships.” Joined by Dynamic Service Solutions President and CEO Darnell Armstrong and Dynamic Service Solutions Co-Founder and Senior Vice President Nicole Commissiong, Davis led a vibrant discussion that explored similarities and challenges in health equity across the diaspora including, but not limited to, infant and maternal mortality, access to clean drinkable water, and issues of environmental injustice. The dinner invoked calls for partnership and collaboration across the continent and around the world.
Photo caption: (David Sam of Ghana’s FastCare Health Clinics, Christal Jackson of Mosaic Genius, Michellene Davis, Esq. of NMF)
Meet Dr. Aerial Petty
NMF alumna and Young Leaders Council Vice-President Dr. Aerial Petty is a staunch advocate for physician advocacy. Having participated in the United Health Foundation/NMF Diverse Medical Scholars program, and the Primary Care Leadership Program, Dr. Petty shares how NMF makes a real-world impact on physician practice.
Primary Care Leadership Program (PCLP) Celebrates 12th Season
On Friday, July 21, NMF alumnus Dr. Don Garcia, chief medical officer of Clínica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero, delivered a keynote to 28 scholars, site partners, and friends to celebrate the successful conclusion of another fantastic service-learning program.
PCLP aims to strengthen pathways to primary care to combat the projected shortage of up to nearly 48,000 primary care physicians by 2034 needed to serve a diverse U.S. population. NMF is grateful to its 2023 funding partners: AltaMed, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and L.A. Care Health Plan.
Plans are already underway for 2024, and NMF welcomes new funding partners. To learn more, please contact Assistant Vice President, Global Programs and Diversity in Clinical Research Tracey Newman at tnewman@nmfonline.org or Interim Executive Director of Development Derrick Smith at dsmith@nmfonline.org.
Affirmative Action
National Medical Fellowships denounces the Supreme Court of the United States decision to declare race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina to be unconstitutional. Make no mistake, this presents grave implications for diversifying the health care workforce, and will have devastating impacts for health outcomes, particularly for communities of color who experience the worst health disparities.
Stand for Diversity in Health Care Education
The Supreme Court's decision has cast a shadow over the path to equal opportunities for aspiring Black, Indigenous, Latine, and People of Color medical students. This ruling has far-reaching implications, particularly for historically and intentionally excluded diverse medical students. It threatens to exacerbate the already glaring disparities in our health care system, hindering progress toward achieving equitable care for all. Now, more than ever, NMF needs your support to ensure a future where health care reflects the rich tapestry of our society.
Scholar Opportunities
New scholarships open frequently for application at NMF! When you create account in NMF's application portal and complete the eligibility form, you will be connected to all open scholarships for which you are eligible. This is an important time-saving approach NMF has implemented for applicants.
A fantastic new scholarship opportunity at NMF is the Future Clinicians Scholarship Program, generously established this year by the United Health Foundation. This scholarship will support underrepresented students of the health professions who are engaging in self-led community service and research and are developing critical professional skills. This $5,000 scholarship is open to M.D., D.O., MSW, DDS, PharmD, and graduate-level nursing and physician-assistant students is renewable for up to four years. Fifty scholarships will be awarded this year. The scholarship will open on July 31.
Alumni Opportunities
Sawubona Training
NMF and the Association of Black Psychologists will be offering Sawubona Healing Circle Facilitator Training. NMF is also in conversation with the National Latinx Psychological Association, to further work on NMF’s strategic pillar advancing behavioral health and wellbeing.
The NMF Diversity in Clinical Trials Research Program is recruiting health care professionals (not just NMF alumni!) who want to become Principal Investigators for its tuition free training program. The goal is to increase the diversity of both clinical investigators and patient participants in clinical research to ensure that treatment and preventative regimens are thoroughly investigated across all populations.
