“It got me some great exposure and some great connections.” Elmahdi said.Īt the same time, Elmahdi built up relationships through Black Men in Medicine. He was around another Black physician and saw that he enjoyed working in medicine. Working with Duncan was a real turning point, Elmahdi says. The patients liked him because of his manner. “At the same time, he was extremely humble and very, very personable. Duncan was impressed with Elmahdi, saying he has a great combination of concentration and compassion.
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Duncan hired Elmahdi as a medical assistant, where he learned how to take vital signs and record health data. Lewis connected the young undergraduate student with Phillip Duncan, M.D., a Richmond cardiologist who had recently joined VCU Health. I was an advisor, but I didn’t get a lot of Black male students who came to seek my help.” That was one of the reasons I started the group.
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“One of the main issues I would say with men in general, and Black men in particular, in a professional setting is we don’t always ask for help. “He was eager to receive help,” Lewis said. Lewis saw potential in Elmahdi early on and encouraged him to pursue a career in medicine. Navigating the complexities to prepare for medical school isn’t easy to do alone. Providing mentorship to underrepresented students Four others who Lewis has worked with, but were not part of the group, have also enrolled.Įlmahdi says he would not be providing care to patients at VCU if it were not for Black Men in Medicine and Lewis’ guidance. Fourteen students who were part of the group have since entered medical school. He is also the first member of the organization to graduate from medical school. Elmahdi’s friend suggested he join, becoming one of the founding members of VCU’s Black Men in Medicine. The email encouraged everyone to get together and form a mentorship program. To form the group, Lewis sent out an email to a list of Black, male undergraduate students at VCU and who had shown an interest in medicine. “At the time, I really reflected and thought, ‘there has to be something that we can do at VCU to help this national problem.” “The study really showed that this is a national issue,” Lewis said. They listen to presentations from Black medical students and network with successful Black physicians.
The young men gather for various events and bond. The student-run organization is designed to improve fellowship and camaraderie within Black male undergraduate students who are considering a career in medicine. That led Lewis to create Black Men in Medicine at VCU. “Black men often have a lack of trust and have a hard time seeking guidance,” Lewis said. The publication noted one of the areas where Black men needed more assistance was through mentorship. At the same time, the AAMC reported in 2019 that 830 Black men under 34 years old were practicing medicine in the U.S., compared to 12,125 white men of the same age. That proportionally low number had dipped from 1970.
The report noted that in 2014, Black men accounted for a total of 1,337 applicants and 515 enrolled students at medical schools. What inspired Lewis’ effort was a publication from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) entitled “Altering the Course: Black Males in Medicine,” which revealed that the number of Black men in medical school had not increased in generations. Lewis III, senior residency program coordinator at VCU Health, was starting the Black Men in Medicine program, designed to bring more Black men into the medical profession. I saw him recover and get back on his feet.”Īt the same time, Henry W. “I was seeing the impact that medicine was having on them. “I started to think more about medicine during my second year because a lot of people in my family were getting sick,” Elmahdi said. Personal experiences drew him toward medicine around 2016. Growing up in Northern Virginia as the son of Sudanese immigrants, Elmahdi entered VCU as a biology major. “VCU was very supportive of my journey,” he said. It now feels like a homecoming, being back in Richmond as a first-year post-graduate training at VCU Health.Ī key reason for his success was a pioneering program at VCU to increase the number of Black male medical doctors. He started out as an undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University and pursued medical school at another institution. When Siddiq Elmahdi made his first rounds as a medical resident last summer, he reflected on his long journey to get here.
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