Diversity in Medicine Visiting Scholars Program

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center is pleased to offer the Diversity in Medicine Visiting Scholars Program for 2022.

Overview

Our department recognizes the vital need for diversity and inclusion at all levels of our organization. In order to continue and expand upon our tradition of excellence in clinical care, research, and education, it is essential that our faculty, fellows, residents, and students represent a range of perspectives, backgrounds, and life experiences, and reflect the diversity of patients we serve. We recognize that working toward inclusivity and against inequality, inequity, and implicit bias is an ongoing process, and we are committed to engaging fully in it.

Members of the Ob/Gyn department in the SIM Center

To help us achieve this goal, we are excited to offer the Diversity in Medicine Visiting Scholars Program to provide support for fourth year medical students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URiM) to participate in an advanced elective rotation at our institution. The goal of the program is to provide exposure to careers in academic medicine and to recruit motivated students who are dedicated to the care of the underserved. We are committed to fostering a learning community of respect, integrity, kindness, and inclusiveness in our educational programs.

  • Scholars will participate in a four-week clinical elective in either Maternal Fetal Medicine or Gynecologic Oncology in August 2022.
  • Scholars will be assigned a URiM faculty mentor.
  • Scholars will be assigned a URiM resident or fellow mentor.
  • Scholars will gain exposure to resident didactic/educational/simulation activities within the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
  • The selected scholars will receive a $2,500 award.
  • Scholars will be responsible for making their own housing and travel arrangements. Scholars may apply for student housing at Bard Hall on the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons’ campus or the International House on the Columbia undergraduate campus, but availability is not guaranteed.

Eligibility

We welcome applications from URiM fourth year medical students in good academic standing at U.S. LCME-accredited medical schools who intend to match into a residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology. As defined by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), “underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population...which includes African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders.”

Application Requirements

  • Students must have completed all required core clerkships at their home institution.
  • Students must submit a transcript from medical school.
  • Students must complete their application through the Visiting Student Program on Columbia's website. 
  • Students must submit one letter of support from their Obstetrics & Gynecology core clerkship director or the student’s Office of Student Affairs.
  • Students must submit a short essay describing their interest in the specialty and how experiences in their personal life or education thus far have shaped their own professional development and goals for a career in medicine. (limit 500 words)