FSU College of Medicine 2018 annual report 2019 Annual Report | Page 39

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PREPARING A PHYSICIAN WORKFORCE REFLECTING FLORIDA’S DIVERSITY
Numerous studies have shown that when patients are
able to see themselves in the physicians who care for them,
it leads to better health outcomes. Cultural competency,
aptitude for science and math who are from rural and other
medically underserved backgrounds.
When the FSU College of Medicine welcomed its first
The College of Medicine received the 2019 Health
Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity
(HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.
language barriers, relatability. … all are factors in why students in 2001, it created another path to increasing it’s best to have a physician workforce that reflects a diversity: The Bridge Program provides students from osteopathic, nursing, veterinary, allied health and other
community’s diversity. medically underserved backgrounds with a yearlong master’s health schools and centers demonstrating an outstanding
track meant to prepare them for the rigors of a medical commitment to diversity and inclusion. The College of
Medicine’s outreach and pipeline programs are all the more education. Those who successfully complete the Master of Medicine, one of 43 health-professions programs honored,
important. Science degree in Biomedical Sciences – Bridge to Clinical received the award for a third consecutive year.
In one of the nation’s most diverse states, the College of
Before the medical school was signed into law in June
2000, a program to attract a more diverse applicant pool had
Medicine are welcomed as first-year medical students with
the next class.
The award recognizes U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy,
HEED Award institutions were selected based on
“recruitment and retention of students and employees —
already been created. Science Students Together Reaching More than 7 percent of the college’s alumni physicians Instructional Diversity and Excellence (SSTRIDE), begun were first introduced to Florida State through SSTRIDE. for diversity; and other aspects of campus diversity and
in 1994 to support the Program in Medical Sciences, With Bridge, the outcomes are equally promising. inclusion.”
identifies students as early as the seventh grade with an
and best practices for both; continued leadership support
In addition, the Bridge Program received a 2019 Inspiring
Programs in STEM Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity.
“These are students who initially were pretty much written off
by everybody. It’s not as if we have some magic elixir that turns
them into wonderful students. It’s just giving them encouragement,
believing in them and teaching them how to believe in themselves.”
– Anthony Speights, M.D., associate dean for interdisciplinary sciences and director of the
Bridge Program, who says he understands these “kids” because he grew up rural, minority
and academically lukewarm until he found a mentor.
The award goes annually to “programs that encourage and
inspire a new generation of young people to consider careers
in science, technology, engineering and math.”
 Black students constitute 64 percent of Bridge participants,
and Hispanic students nearly 19 percent. One-fourth of
Bridge students come from rural backgrounds, and half that
many come from inner-city neighborhoods.
Its retention rate is about 95 percent. More than 96 percent
of students who entered medical school through Bridge have
earned their medical degrees.