A call for change

Throughout her career, M.D.-Ph.D. candidate Susie Turkson has had varied experiences as a person of color in the complex environment of academic medicine. She has received overwhelming support from mentors and peers, and has also felt called to action by first-hand experiences of implicit bias and racial microaggressions. 

When she was introduced, without her consent, to a group of new students as “the person to talk to about resilience,” Turkson felt this introduction cast a pre-written narrative over her as a Black woman in medicine. 

“While it may not have been their intention, it was hurtful having my entire personhood summed up with the title of ‘resilience’,” Turkson said. “I realized that there would need to be stronger conversations about the use of ‘resilience’ when referring to people of color.” 

Now a fifth-year in the School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist Training Program, Turkson aims to make the landscape more equitable for future physicians and researchers. 

Paying it forward 

Nationally, minorities remain underrepresented in academic medicine compared to their white counterparts. According to a report by the Association of American Medical Colleges, 3.6% of full-time medical school faculty in 2018 were African American, 19.2% were Asian and 5.5% were Hispanic, Latino or of Spanish origin (alone or in combination with another race/ethnicity). Meanwhile, white faculty members accounted for 63.9%. 

To encourage more minorities to pursue medicine, Turkson joined the Student National Medical Association, an organization committed to supporting current and future underrepresented minority medical students and addressing the needs of underserved communities. 

As a member, Turkson met with pre-medical students while they applied to medical school. She found that many students were disappointed in schools' lack of diversity in their faculty and class demographics, and struggled to determine which institutions would be the right fit for them. 

With that concern in mind, Turkson connected them with current medical students to share their experiences and perspectives during the application process. 

Turkson also shared the resources she used, including the qualities she looked for when applying to medical school, such as a school’s curriculum style, clinical training record, leadership composition and student support. 

“The landscape is shifting; prospective students are beginning to feel more empowered when choosing medical schools,” Turkson said. “This shift means institutions must be more intentional about the image and culture they embody and portray to potential students.”  

Above all, Turkson emphasized that students would need to determine what is important to them. 

“I recognize how challenging this process can be,” she said. “When I was applying to medical school, I had a network of people who helped me navigate the application process to find the right fit.” 

An advocate for change 

In 2020, the deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Susan Moore, M.D. and George Floyd brought calls for medical and social reform to the forefront.  

Influenced by the national activism that followed those tragedies, Turkson partnered with other students and VCU faculty to create the RVA Health Alliance for Social Justice and Equity (RVA Health SJE), a group that comprises health care practitioners and community members addressing health inequities and promoting social justice.  

Since its inception in 2020, RVA Health SJE has drafted letters to local legislators on specific bills, highlighting potential impacts on public safety and health. The group also held virtual sessions voicing their concerns on social issues like systemic racism in clinics and the use of tear gas for crowd control during protests. 

“As students, we saw this as an opportunity to leverage our positions and create a space where we can partner with physicians to advocate for change,” Turkson said. “We want to ensure that we’re effectively using our voice as students to spread awareness of these things.” 

Turkson feels that medical students, trainees and physicians can get siloed in their work, limiting their interactions with one another to engage in DEI efforts. She sees herself holding a position in academic medicine where she can bridge the connection between the groups to improve efforts toward inclusion.   

“My hope is to no longer use DEI as an acronym, but to have it ingrained within the structure of every program,” Turkson said. 

Learn more 

The RVA Health SJE holds monthly meetings and is open for anyone to join. To learn more, email Alan Dow, M.D., interim chair of the Department of Internal Medicine's Division of Hospital Medicine at rvahealthjusticeequity@gmail.com.