But after earning his master’s degree in public health from Rutgers University, Khan quickly discovered that “as a foreign student, you have limited opportunities in the United States if you want to go to medical school.” So Khan got his M.D. from University Eugenia Maria De Hostos in the Dominican Republic and then returned to the United States to dedicate his life to helping Black, Latino and other underrepresented students pursue careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields.

In 1985, while serving as an instructor at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Khan cofounded the Rutgers University Office of Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences (ODASIS), whose Access-Med program prepares promising undergrads from economically and/or academically disadvantaged groups for STEM careers with emphasis on health-allied professions. Today, Khan’s program serves about 500 at-risk undergrads annually, and in 2009, 86 percent were accepted to medical school.

“It’s all about increasing the numbers,” says the associate director, noting that the year ODASIS began, only one Rutgers student had gone into the medical profession.

When Khan isn’t pushing undergrads to “give it their all,” he’s creating a feeder pool of potential STEM students by working with local students as early as ninth grade through four separate college-prep programs. A tireless and charismatic leader, Khan also serves as faculty adviser to Rutgers’ Islamic Society, the West Indian Student Organization and the Department of Africana Studies.

Last year, Khan was recognized with the AspiringDocs.org Recognition Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges for helping to close the disparities gap in the med-school application pool.

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Comment: I feel the need to respond to the comment, “does this mean that white doctors do not provide good quality of care?” and to the blatant sarcasm of the person who commented about Asian doctors. I did not come from a background of economic privilege, but I did become a doctor through a fantastic scholarship program (Navy). When I noticed the great disparity in the primary and secondary education that students receive in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and the incredibly low numbers of students of color applying to and being accepted by U.S. medical schools, I figured out the connection. There is great discrepancy in guidance, exposure and opportunity among students attending different schools geographically in this area, and I am sure that is true of any urban area.

I decided to address the pipeline—if students are not exposed to opportunities outside their neighborhoods before it is “too late,” that window (or door) will be shut permanently. My biomedical science summer program for high school students is designed to be diverse­—students come from public and private schools, D.C., Virginia, Maryland (and out of state), and come from nuclear or non-nuclear homes. All staff are volunteers. The students do all the same activities and have the same expectations. The dynamics are unbelievable. One of the recurrent comments we receive from the suburban students is that they had NO IDEA that students just like them living less than 10 miles away had to make decisions everyday that they never think of. For example, how many suburban kids whose next summer activity is sleep-away lacrosse camp have to decide whether they should use the $5 their foster mother gave them to take the metro to our hospital OR eat lunch (but not both)? How much of society obsesses about single parent households when some of our students come from zero parent households and still have the drive to succeed?

So, the answer is yes, white doctors do provide good care, but there are many patients to whom they may not relate if they have not been exposed to the decisions that some of our patients have to make every day. If you don’t understand the culture, experience, or background that another person comes from, you will naturally impose your own experiences on them. This is a natural instinct, but can lead to dangerous judgmental decisions that can impact your interaction with your patients and result in poorer outcomes. For example, many of us take half a day off for a doctor’s appointment. What about the patient who is late for an appointment because they couldn’t get off work from an hourly-wage job (and is not getting paid for the hours not worked) who has to find child care and take a bus? Why do office personnel yell at these patients or judge them because they are late for an appointment or why does the doctor refuse to see them if they are late? Cultural competency alone can improve the health literacy and outcomes for this high-risk population.

The majority (and I recognize that not all white men have had the same economic, social, etc. experiences) physicians are and will continue to be the backbone of the health care system—they trained us, mentored us, and celebrated our successes and will continue to do so. Programs that will allow students of color or educationally disadvantaged students to realize their potential, besides being the right thing to do, are economically and ethically sound and do not threaten the deserving majority.

With regard to Asian doctors, it is time for all of us to understand that each of the census categories is diverse within itself. “Hispanic” for example covers at least three continents and a multitude of customs, traditions, values, and beliefs. The Asian population additionally is not tied together by language, history, appearance/color, religion, or immigration accession point. Some of us are third and fourth generation and are still asked where we learned to speak English. While Asians may be visible as physicians, scientists, and engineers, they still only constitute less than 5% of the U.S. population. The sad reality is that there are only very few states where this may be true. AND furthermore, this stereotype leaves a huge underserved immigrant and first-generation Asian population at an even greater disadvantage. And many of the languages, customs, traditions, values, and beliefs among these Asian cultures prevent them from ever advocating for each other or even themselves.— Cynthia Macri, U.S. Navy

The views expressed herein are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DiversityInc.

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So Martin’s mom secured a $15,000 loan and sent her son to the private Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, where he completed his GED online while practicing 16 hours a day. Martin’s drive and unwavering desire to become a physician pointed him to Rutgers University’s Office for Diversity and Academic Success in the Sciences (ODASIS), whose Access-Med program prepares promising Black, Latino and other undergrads from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged groups for careers in medicine.

Four years later, Martin graduated from Rutgers with a 3.85 GPA and will begin Harvard Medical School this fall. “A miracle happened,” says Martin.

Each year, ODASIS serves roughly 500 at-risk undergrads, and nearly 800 of them have graduated since the program’s founding in 1985. Among the ODASIS class of 2009, 86 percent were accepted to medical school, up from 70 percent in 2007.

Still, Black, Latino and American Indian med students are rare. Three years ago, more than 40,000 people applied to medical school in the United States, with Blacks, Latinos and American Indians making up only about 15 percent of the applicant pool, reports the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), while comprising about one-third of the population. That same year, only 8.7 percent of doctors were from these underrepresented groups, according to a study published in the Journal of Academic Medicine.

The latest AAMC data shows only slight improvement: Among the 42,269 med-school applicants in 2009, only 16 percent were Black, Latino or American Indian. And this disparity extends beyond the potential physician pool—a mere 6.9 percent of people from underrepresented groups ended up as dentists in 2007, only 9.9 percent were pharmacists and just 6.2 percent were registered nurses.

But it’s critical that people from underrepresented groups be recruited into healthcare and other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields because it will increase the quality of care for those groups and spur innovation. Black, Latino and American Indian/Pacific Islander physicians are nearly three to four times more likely than whites to practice in underserved communities, reports the AAMC.

The dearth of diversity in all STEM professions is what inspired the launch of ODASIS. In 1986, when the initiative first began, only one Black student from Rutgers was accepted to medical school, and he eventually became a radiologist.

STEM-Enrichment Success

ODASIS is a rigorous program that offers four years of step-by-step supplemental instruction, academic enrichment and career advice designed to increase the pipeline of underrepresented talent in all STEM fields. The program is managed by Trinidad native Dr. Kamal Khan, a tireless instructor and caring mentor. He ensures that a four-year academic plan is developed for each incoming freshman so he/she stays on track and pursues the appropriate opportunities.

As a result, these students, often the first in their families to attend college, gain self-confidence. Before ODASIS, says Martin, “I never really believed in myself.”

Academic customization and an integrated-learning approach have helped make ODASIS a success. As part of the Access-Med program, for example, Khan formed collaborative relationships with local healthcare institutions to provide students with research training, professional learning and hands-on experience. Most unique to this pipeline program is the seven-month MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)/DAT (Dental Admission Test) prep course.

Khan often starts working with students who have been identified as having an interest in the sciences the summer prior to their first semester at Rutgers. To facilitate the transition for these incoming freshmen, Khan developed a five-week summer prep program to expose students to basic math and chemistry that allows them to earn college credits toward their degree. This summer, with financial support from Merck & Co., Khan and his team are working with 25 students to help hone their basic math skills “so they can hit the ground running” when they enter college.

“Students were coming in not prepared to take science courses,” he says. “They didn’t have the basic college math to take a college science course. So [we'd have] to support them in the basics. And then by the time they finished the basics, they were in their second year and would say, ‘I don’t want to take the sciences. I’m going to be here forever.’”

But thanks to the support of local organizations, the Educational Opportunity Fund Central Office and Johnson & Johnson, Khan is creating a feeder pool of potential ODASIS students by working with local students as early as ninth grade. The goal: to provide laboratory exposure, SAT-prep instruction, college-admissions counseling and career advice. This year, more than 300 12th-grade students attended the ODASIS Saturday Scholars Academy, one of four separate college-prep programs Khan oversees.

“We also do workshops with parents,” he says. “We get parents very involved.”

What motivates ODASIS students to succeed? Setting high standards and being held accountable for their actions, says Khan. “If you walk into class late or you miss a session and get three red flags, you’re out of the program,” he says. “Why so strict? If you want to be a doctor and you miss the operation, someone dies. So we try to teach them to become mature at a young age.”

In addition to their regular coursework, ODASIS students are required to attend roundtable-style academic support sessions, study halls (up to 9 hours a week for freshmen), testing, motivational workshops and more. They also meet one-on-one with advisers twice a month to review their progress.

“If you’re not doing well, they will call your family,” warns Mekeme Utuk, an ODASIS graduate who just completed her first semester at Harvard Medical School.

In exchange, the students, who often come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, appreciate the support and opportunity. “All that I could take tutoring for, I took. I thought, ‘Why not? It can’t hurt; it’s just extra practice,’” recalls Utuk, whose parents are Nigerian immigrants.

The program also teaches undergrads how to study, critical for challenging courses such as organic chemistry. “I really didn’t know how to study. In high school, I would just cram for exams. But I didn’t know how to break down a chapter and take good notes … and learn through repetition,” says Utuk. “ODASIS made me a better thinker.”

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