Fostering pathways to healthcare for underrepresented youth

Motivated by her own experiences in healthcare, as well as those of others who have traversed healthcare professions from underrepresented backgrounds, Martina Caldwell, M.D., M.S., Medical Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Henry Ford Medical Group, is leading the charge to empower Detroit-area youth by building pathways to future careers in healthcare.

Dr. Caldwell launched RYSE MED – Readying Youth Scientists for Excellence in Medicine, Health Equity and Discovery – in the summer of 2022 to provide Metro Detroit high schoolers the scientific socialization, relationship-building, clinical immersion, and educational empowerment needed to increase their confidence as they pursue careers in healthcare.

The program’s pre-health career immersion offers experiential learning for high school students from underrepresented and structurally vulnerable backgrounds, helping them learn about healthcare careers while being mentored by those in the profession.

“The motivation was to serve the critical need for diversity in healthcare, and to start as early as possible in the pathway,” said Dr. Caldwell.

During a summer intensive that culminates in collaborative health equity research presentations, RYSE MED scholars engage in presentations from clinical and research specialists on a wide range of healthcare topics, and YPAR curriculum – youth-led participatory action research.

RYSE MED scholars also receive hands-on clinical experiences in Henry Ford Hospital’s Center for Simulation, Education and Research, where they undergo CPR and ultrasound training, perform simulated laparoscopic surgeries, learn how to suture, and even treat clinical cases using simulated patient mannequins and virtual reality.

At the core of RYSE MED’s programming is mentorship. Students meet with their mentors weekly, and also shadow clinicians and researchers in clinical environments multiple times throughout the summer.

“We are very conscious to include identity-concordant mentors. We want our youth to see themselves reflected in their mentors,” shared Dr. Caldwell, who believes that students’ ability to actively see themselves in healthcare careers, along with persistence in the face of adversity, are key ingredients to success in medicine.

But support for the scholars doesn’t end with their mentors. RYSE MED engages parents, guardians and families in the transformational programming – emphasizing the long-term value of supporting their children’s interest in healthcare and equipping them with information to help families advocate for their students. RYSE MED also offers stipends for students who may forgo part-time jobs to participate in the program.

Looking to the future, Dr. Caldwell hopes to build out the robust program by adding longitudinal components to RYSE MED, such as academic tutoring, college prep and offering both a clinical and research track where a select group of students can deepen the invaluable hands-on experience offered by the summer intensive throughout the year.

Thanks to the generous support of corporate partners, volunteer educators and individual donors, RYSE MED continues to offer fundamental programming to ready bright, young minds for future careers as clinicians and researchers.

“We’re training the next generation of health leaders in this city,” said Dr. Caldwell.