Increasing diversity in medicine through mentorship

People of color have worse health outcomes than white people in America. We've known that, but the pandemic underscored the fact painfully.

Health care systems have become increasingly focused on solving that problem, including by increasing the diversity of health care providers. Research shows a correlation between having providers who look like you, and who understand your lived experience, and having better health outcomes.

Brigham and Women's is trying something new — a mentoring program designed to attract people of color into becoming physician assistants, and then helping them get through the program successfully.

We hear more about the program from its founder, Aline Snietka, a senior physician assistant at Brigham and Women's who founded the program. We also check in with Kimberly Rivera, who is also a physician assistant there, and a mentor. She's mentoring Harena Gebreyesus, who's studying to become a physician assistant at Mass General Hospital.