The oldest and largest minority student-run organization in the United States now has a local chapter housed at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.
The Student National Medicine Association (SNMA) chartered an official chapter at Marshall University earlier this month. SNMA is a national organization committed to “supporting current and future underrepresented minority medical students, addressing the needs of underserved communities and increasing the number of clinically excellent, culturally competent and socially conscious physicians.” In addition, SNMA is dedicated both to ensuring that medical education and services are culturally sensitive to the needs of diverse populations and to increasing the number of African American, Latino and other students of color entering and completing medical school.
Marshall becomes one of 150 SNMA chapters at medical schools across the nation.
“We are fortunate to have a dynamic, engaged minority student population at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine,” said Shelvy Campbell-Monroe, Ph.D., the school’s assistant dean of diversity and inclusion and SNMA chapter advisor. “Formalizing an SNMA chapter here at Marshall provides additional resources as we continue to support current and future underrepresented minority medical students.”
In addition to Campbell-Monroe, founding chapter advisors at Marshall include past residents Anthony Johnson, M.D., and Dominique Elmore, D.O. Inaugural chapter officers are second-year medical students Mercy Babatope (President); Dominic Thomas (Vice President); Ifeoluwatomi Fuwape (Secretary); and Ibrahim Mohammed (Treasurer).
“In small, rural states such as ours, there are few minority professionals and students,” Babatope said. “SNMA will be the bridge between medical professionals and students by facilitating exposure to different career options as well as the benefits and challenges they might face in their careers. SNMA is dedicated to creating a family from home for students throughout their medical school journey.”
SNMA members are already assisting the school’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion in planning and preparation for its summer pipeline programs, the Health Care Policy Institute and Project PREMED. The local SNMA chapter will also host the 2019 Joint Regional Conference for the National Association of Medical Minority Educators (NAMME) Southern and Central Regions and the October 2019 Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians (BNGAP) conference at Marshall University.
For more information about SNMA, visit http://www.snma.org/.
Originally from Sheanna Spence for Marshall University Communications.