Bringing awareness to increasing diversity in the healthcare workforce
The Coalition of Black Men Physicians will host a fundraiser event to celebrate the inaugural National Black Men Physicians Day on September 12 at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles. National Black Men Physicians Day will bring awareness to the need for increasing diversity in the healthcare workforce and give exposure to the health inequities that exist in medicine.
This day of recognition will celebrate excellence by providing inspiration through collaboration amongst black men in the medical pipeline and community stakeholders, and will create a platform to support black male who are pursuing higher education by increasing recruitment in medicine.
Attendees at the event will tour Sofi Stadium’s executive suites, locker room, the field, and conclude with a networking happy hour. Sponsors include City National Bank, The Weight Room Therapy, L.A. Care Health Plan, Stoggles, and Health X Hollywood.
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“These statistics show us that a health emergency is taking place not only in regards to the lack of diversity in the medical educational pipeline, but also greatly impacts patients who desperately seek culturally competent care and providers who can relate to their needs.” said President of the Coalition of Black Men Physicians Lauren Senkbeil. “We need to move with urgency and come up with solutions together.”
Today, less than 4% of practicing physicians are black men, a statistic that has remained stagnant since the 1970’s despite steady increases in the numbers of black men and women living in the United States, and only 2.9% of medical school enrollment included Black males in 2020. There are still significant barriers to training culturally competent black male physicians capable of transforming health in medically underserved communities. With this day of recognition, the Coalition of Black Men Physicians is dedicated to raising funds for black male medical students and garnering the support of those who have a like-minded mission.
The date of the event, September 12, is in honor of the founders’ friend, Dr. Kwame Firempong, a fourth-year medical student at University of California Los Angeles who recently passed away. September 12 is his birthday.
The Coalition of Black Men Physicians Executive board members Dr. Rasheed Ivey, Dr. Richard Morgan, and Lauren Senkbeil were catalyzed to co-find this organization after the passing of their friend Dr. Kwame Firempong who was a fourth year medical student at University of California Los Angeles.
As they move forward to address the lack of black men in medicine, they are sensitive to what students in the pipeline endure as they know what is required to get into medical school and be successful in this field.
The organization is dedicated to creating a cultural movement where pathways are created for black men who aspire to enter medicine through providing fellowship, mentorship, programs that prepare students with academic resources, and financial support of course- scholarship funds. The organization aims to provide measurable solutions in the next five years to dismantle this broken system and change the face of medicine to better reflect and serve our diverse nation.
