Johnson is working as a clinical research coordinator for the Byers Eye Institute under Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD, the Blumenkranz Smead Professor and a professor of ophthalmology, on a study looking at optic nerve regeneration. He said he cant decide on his favorite aspect of the program: the tight-knit scholar cohort or the research mentorship.

The mentors pull you up onto the mountaintop to survey the landscape of career options, and thats been one of the biggest impacts on my career so far, Johnson said. I wanted to go somewhere I felt wanted and where I felt I could be my authentic self. And I feel like Im getting that with REACH.

Operating in parallel with the postbaccalaureate program is the HBCU Visiting Student and Faculty Exchange Program, founded in 2017 by professor of medicine Abraham Verghese, MD. The program, now a part of REACH, pairs medical students and faculty from historically Black colleges and universities with Stanford Medicine collaborators.

Tylanna Baker, a visiting student from Morehouse School of Medicine, was among last summers cohort of REACH-HBCU scholars. In 2014, Bakers aunt, after avoiding medical care for years, died of complications from an enlarged heart. It moved Baker to enroll at the historically Black medical school, where she developed an interest in medical culture and the way doctors in different places approach medicine.

Baker found out about REACH through a Morehouse email listserv. She applied in January of 2022 and was accepted February 3, a date she said shell always remember.

Under the supervision of Baraka Floyd, MD, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics, Baker conducted a review of practices to limit racial injustice, then used that information to provide recommendations to workers in pediatrics departments.

You get out of your comfort zone, get out of what youve been used to during your first year of medical school, Baker said about REACH. I like seeing different kinds of doctors, seeing different kinds of professions, being in a different environment and atmosphere.

Baker hopes to work in primary care to prevent simple health issues that, without treatment, can mean death.

Through REACH, Terrance Mayes, associate dean of equity and strategic initiatives and a leader of the REACH program, hopes to create a positive feedback loop between patients and medical professionals. By increasing access to health care for people of diverse backgrounds, health inequities will narrow, Mayes said.

Recently, the REACH Bioscience PhD Fellowship launched with a goal to increase access to academic career paths. While still in early stages, the program pays for the training of minority and first-generation students to pursue doctorate degrees. Over the next year, REACH will launch three additional programs, rounding out its mission to train a new generation of leaders who prioritize health equity, social justice and racial equity:

The MD-MS Program in Health Equity Research will pay for students to pursue a masters degree with a focus on health equity, alongside their medical degree.

To address social disparities at various community levels, the Scholarly Concentration in Health Equity and Social Justice Research will engage medical students in class and community project work.

The Clinical Clerkship in Community Health of the Underserved will provide outpatient care for communities that traditionally lack access to health care.

REACH is transforming the way we deliver education and helping us train future leaders who will orient their work and their purpose around social justice and health equity, Mayes said.

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REACH Initiative to expand equity, diversity at Stanford School of ... - Stanford Medical Center Report