Committee on Diversity and Multicultural Affairs”
In an interview with Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom, Jo Wiederhorn, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY), discussed the importance of diversity in medicine.
According to Ms. Wiederhorn, AMSNY’s programs have been very successful in helping under-represented minority students pursue careers in medicine. She emphasized how these pipeline programs help to ensure that the physician workforce in New York reflects the diverse background and culture of the state’s population.
AMSNY supports programs across the educational continuum to expand the pool of students choosing careers in medicine and other health professions. The programs, which are mainly housed within New York State’s medical schools, are supported through a grant from the State Department of Health, with additional financial assistance from the medical schools. The goal of the diversity in medicine programs is to provide enrichment and support to students from groups underrepresented in medicine and/or from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The following schools host AMSNY’s post-baccalaureate programs:
- School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, SUNY
- New York Medical College: Interdisciplinary Basic Medical Sciences Master’s Program
- Stony Brook University School of Medicine: Physiology and Biophysics Master’s Program
- SUNY Upstate Medical University: Medical Scholars Master’s Program
Each year, New York educates more doctors than any other state in the country. In a recent press release, AMSNY reported that 2,424 new medical students enrolled this fall in the state’s 16 medical schools. Students enter AMSNY’s programs through the medical school admissions process and are granted conditional acceptance upon successful completion of the program. 93 percent of students who have participated in the post-baccalaureate programs have continued on to medical school and graduated.
For the full interview, click here.
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