As the President and Founder of DiverseMedicine Inc. and the Black Men in White Coats Video Series, Dr. Dale Okorodudu has made great strides in assisting underrepresented minorities and the economically disadvantaged in their pursuit of careers in medicine.
Dale Okorodudu, MD
Physician & Social Entrepreneur
Physician & Social Entrepreneur
DiverseMedicine Inc.
Although Blacks and African-Americans comprise 13 percent of the nation, they account for only 4 percent of the physician workforce.
In 2013, out of the total U.S. MD active physicians, 4.1% were Black or African-American, 4.4% were Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% were American Indian or Alaska Native, 11.7% were Asian, and 48.9% were White.
In 2013, out of the total U.S. MD active physicians, 4.1% were Black or African-American, 4.4% were Hispanic or Latino, 0.4% were American Indian or Alaska Native, 11.7% were Asian, and 48.9% were White.
Dr. Dale viewed this as a significant problem. As such, in 2011, with a team of superb physicians, Dr. Dale founded DiverseMedicine with the belief that an abundant number of highly qualified underrepresented minority and economically disadvantaged premedical students were having their medical career dreams crushed simply because there was nobody present to show them how to do it.
While there are numerous effective mentoring organizations across the nation, DiverseMedicine set out to develop an innovative social network mentoring model.
“The younger generations do not communicate the same way we did prior to social networking. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and the originator of it all, Black Planet; these are what they know now. If we want to reach them, we need to communicate like they do. Not to mention, mentoring via this model is much more efficient than traditional models. If we are serious about increasing diversity in the field of medicine, during the current Facebook era, this is how to do it.”
While there are numerous effective mentoring organizations across the nation, DiverseMedicine set out to develop an innovative social network mentoring model.
“The younger generations do not communicate the same way we did prior to social networking. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and the originator of it all, Black Planet; these are what they know now. If we want to reach them, we need to communicate like they do. Not to mention, mentoring via this model is much more efficient than traditional models. If we are serious about increasing diversity in the field of medicine, during the current Facebook era, this is how to do it.”
Mission
DiverseMedicine’s mission is to increase ethnic and socioeconomic diversity within the field of Medicine. DiverseMedicine’s team believes that individuals from underrepresented ethnic groups and from economically disadvantaged upbringings are capable of becoming highly effective clinicians and scientists if provided with a community of support and mentorship. DiverseMedicine leverages modern day technology to establish a community of mentorship.
Mentorship
DiverseMedicine provides students with an excellent cohort of mentors from across the nation. These mentors have all excelled academically and have taken many different routes to get to where they are now. Perhaps most important, DiverseMedicine’s mentors have achieved success because they understand the importance of caring for underserved patients, and having health care professionals who are committed to that task.
