Mayo medical school bringing diversity to the field

A new class of physicians is set to graduate from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in the spring. An increasing number of soon-to-be doctors are entering the medical industry to provide health equality, inclusion, and diversity to patients who are underrepresented, underserved, and not receiving the care they require because of structural hurdles and health inequities. There is a discernible change in attention from previous years, said Dr. Jewel Kling, Dean of Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine in Arizona.

“Many of our students recognize that there’s health inequities that need to be addressed. So they are targeting their future careers to look at ways to address those needs and better serve the needs of our patients and our community, both here in Arizona and beyond,” said Dr. Kling.

“There are so many different inequities, but we see this based on diversity, so different groups of people have access to care differently. And it may be based on race, ethnicity, their language, access to care. Things like homelessness and other things that impact folks,” said Dr. Kling.

“Our students are really passionate about finding ways to overcome those barriers and meet those patients where they need it,” continued Dr. Kling.

Dr. Kling said many students in the program had this consciousness of care coming into the program, while others did not. She also mentioned the physician shortage that’s been plaguing the country and how this initiative is also addressing that problem.

“I think what our students are dedicated to doing is going to address that. In fact, in our recent match, we had 28 students that matched a primary care specialty, 28 out of 202 students, so that’s a significant percentage. A good percentage of our students also matched locally here in Arizona, so I’m grateful those are the doctors that are going to take care of you and me in our future to help address those shortages we see here in Arizona,” said Dr. Kling.