COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
STUDENT PROFILE
Allison Leggett
Allison Leggett is a fourth-year student in the Charles R . Drew / UCLA Medical Education Program . She graduates in June 2023 and is also a student member of CDU ' s Board of Trustees .
Leggett ' s interest in the medical field began following an injury she had at 19 years old during her postgraduate experience as a dancer in New York City .
" Though heartbroken at the time , this moment was pivotal in my journey to medicine . It first sparked my passion in preventive medicine , seeing how many of my classmates were struck with countless injuries that could have been prevented with proper strength and conditioning ," said Leggett . " Throughout medical school , I saw this same relationship as many of my patients were dealing with chronic illnesses that were largely influenced by social , environmental , and lifestyle factors . This ultimately has led to my passion for nutrition and culinary medicine as a means to prevent illness and has allowed me to funnel my passion for public health and nutrition , laying the foundation for a career in preventive medicine ."
She was intentional about seeking training in the community she wished to serve . Having grown up in Inglewood and throughout Los Angeles , she said she saw her family and friends in this community .
“ CDU immediately appealed to me because , unlike many programs I came across , their actions matched their words ," explained Leggett . " Here was a medical program that was located right in South Central LA and was involved directly with the community . I knew that in order to get the proper training to become the best patient advocate and physician leader for our marginalized and under-resourced communities in Los Angeles , CDU was the place to be ."
Leggett feels like she could not have chosen a better program to obtain her medical education .
“ CDU is really a family . Given the limited diversity in the field of medicine , it has been truly uplifting to be surrounded by such powerful and like-minded classmates , who are just as passionate about working with our most marginalized communities ,” said Leggett . “ I feel that my success in medical school has been largely a result of the unconditional support from the CDU staff , especially Dr . Daphne Calmes .”
Leggett is excited to apply to preventive medicine residency programs that will allow her to work on improving the health of populations . " I appreciate that medicine exceeds the clinical setting since we can ’ t write a prescription for all the problems in our healthcare system ," shared Legget . " I look forward to being able to work with communities and to come up with achievable lifestyle changes together ."
NFL Taps CDU for New Initiative to Increase Diversity in Sports Medicine
The NFL , together with the NFL Physicians Society ( NFLPS ) and the Professional Football Athletic Trainer Society ( PFATS ), have announced via press release the launch of the NFL Diversity in Sports Medicine Pipeline Initiative , which will provide medical students at Charles R . Drew University of Medicine and Science and the nation ’ s three other Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCU ) medical schools with the opportunity to complete a clinical rotation with NFL club medical staff . This initiative aims to increase and diversify the pipeline of students interested in pursuing careers in sports medicine to help make a positive impact in the field and , over time , help to diversify NFL club medical staff .
Medical students interested in primary care sports medicine and / or orthopedic surgery from Charles R . Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles , Howard University College of Medicine in Washington D . C ., Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta , and Meharry Medical College in Nashville will be selected by their respective schools to complete one-month clinical rotations with NFL clubs during the 2022 NFL season . A total of 16 total students will participate in this inaugural season , two students each at eight participating NFL clubs : Atlanta Falcons , Cincinnati Bengals , Los Angeles Chargers , Los Angeles Rams , New York Giants , San Francisco 49ers , Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders . In 2023 , the program will expand to recruit students from additional academic institutions and medical disciplines and place those students with medical staffs at more NFL clubs .
“ This unique collaboration between the HBCU Medical Schools , the NFL , NFL Physicians Society and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society will provide a potentially once-ina-lifetime opportunity for students to experience , learn , and develop sports medicine skills in a real environment with world-class sports teams and sports medicine professionals ,” noted Dr . Lisa Barkley , the Family Medicine Department Chair at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles who also heads up the university ’ s sports medicine program . “ Developing medical professionals from traditionally underrepresented communities is an important , valuable , and notably proactive step towards addressing diversity issues across the field of sports medicine .”
A study that examines diversity of the medical student population shows Black medical students comprise only 7.3 percent of the total medical school population in the U . S . – a figure that has risen less than 1 percent over the last 40 years and is far lower than the 13.4 percent Black population in the United States .
According to the NFLPS , 86 percent of their membership identify as white , 8 percent identify as Asian , 5 percent identify as Black and 1 percent identify as Hispanic . According to PFATS , 65 percent of their membership identify as white , 23 percent identify as Black , 8 percent identify as Hispanic , and 4 percent identify as Asian .
“ Increasing diversity across every role in our league and at our clubs is essential . Diversity makes us stronger ,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell . “ We have an opportunity to help increase the pipeline of diverse sports medicine professionals , which is imperative for us as a league . This initiative is an example of how we
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