BA/MD Faculty and Students Shine at AAMC’s Annual Meeting

Jill Foster, MD, Assistant Dean for Pipeline and Pathway Programs, Medical Education Faculty Viviane Leuche, MD, and Eduardo Medina, MD, and BA/MD Scholars Maliah Jaiteh and Sophia Coleman represented the University of Minnesota at the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Combined Baccalaureate/Medical Degree Affiliate (BA/MD) Group at the AAMC annual meeting in Seattle on Nov. 3.

Dr. Foster, newly elected Vice Chair of this Affiliate Group, was chosen to help lead this national congregation of programs that will work together to grow recruitment of young people from underserved communities and the rates of their successful entrance into medicine. With her decades of service in medicine and medical education, Dr. Foster will lead in developing best practices and specialized support structures to improve these programs’ outcomes.

BA/MD Scholars Sophia Coleman and Maliah Jaiteh presented on common obstacles premedical students may face that can cause them to fall out of the pipeline. Their presentation emphasized that encouraging mentorship and peer mentoring, as well as faculty support, can make a significant difference in students’ ability to reach their goals.

Following the meeting, Dr. Medina noted, “Health outcomes improve when patients can relate well to their medical providers. We are dedicated to helping these exceptional young people in becoming the next generation of physicians who can provide that kind of care.”

Dr. Leuche added to Dr. Medina’s insight sharing, “It was great to meet students and colleagues from across the country and learn more about ways to best support our learners in developing the competencies the AAMC is looking for in future physicians.”