Billy R. Thomas

The POD: a new model for mentoring underrepresented minority faculty.

Mentoring, long recognized as a catalyst for successful careers, is particularly important to the career development of underrepresented minority (URM) faculty. In academic medicine, mentor–protégé relationships are seriously threatened by increased clinical, research, and administrative demands and an emphasis on scholarship over citizenship. New mentoring models are needed, and they should be adaptable to a medical school’s unique structure and mission. The Peer-Onsite-Distance (POD) model, developed in 2002 by the authors and introduced at the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is a targeted, multilevel mentoring prototype that is built on a solid research foundation and tailored to the unique needs of URM medical school faculty. The mentee’s individual needs for guidance related to career goals, resources, and the content and interaction skills that are known to be critical to successful academic careers are targeted for development. The multilevel approach provides a unique network of peer and faculty mentors who provide site-specific career guidance. Also in the network are leaders in their fields who can provide access to accurate information, cautions, predictions, and announcements of future resources or potential restrictions in academic medicine. Mentor commitments are clearly defined and time contributions are maximized. The POD model aims to promote retention and advance the careers of URM faculty by wrapping them in a protective cushion of interpersonal and intrapersonal support. The flexibility of the design allows for adaptation to any institution’s unique structure and mission.

Health and Health Care Disparities: The Effect of Social and Environmental Factors on Individual and Population Health

Recently the existence and prevalence of health and health care disparities has increased with accompanying research showing that minorities (African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders) are disproportionately affected resulting in poorer health outcomes compared to non-minority populations (whites). This is due to multiple factors including and most importantly the social determinants of health which includes lower levels of education, overall lower socioeconomic status, inadequate and unsafe housing, and living in close proximity to environmental hazards; all contributing to poor health. Given the ever widening gap in health and health care disparities, the growing number of individuals living at or below the poverty level, the low number of college graduates and the growing shortage of health care professionals (especially minority) the goals of this paper are to: (1) Define diversity and inclusion as interdependent entities. (2) Review the health care system as it relates to barriers/problems within the system resulting in the unequal distribution of quality health care. (3) Examine institutional and global benefits of increasing diversity in research. (4) Provide recommendations on institutional culture change and developing a diverse culturally competent healthcare workforce.

How Can We Ease the Social Isolation of Underrepresented Minority Students

To the Editor: In an environment in which there may be a lack of cultural sensitivity, a lack of shared experiences, and a lack of inclusion or like-mindedness, underrepresented minority (URM) students may feel isolated1,2 and not part of a social network. In our experience, such students may be mistakenly perceived as having a lack of knowledge, being unprofessional, or just not being interested academically and socially. Furthermore, evaluations of clinical rotations have a significant subjective component and are influenced by social interactions of students and faculty and the implicit expectations of both. We have seen the lack of social interaction of some URMs lead to misperceptions of their competencies and to their receiving less-thandeserved evaluations. This translates into lower class rankings, which, in turn, may reduce some URMs’ competitive status during the residency selection process.

Underrepresented minorities and the health professions pipeline.

We see no need or justification to establish for-profit medical schools. The for-profit status of Rocky Vista is dismissed by its proponents as merely a “tax status” that does not affect the quality or operation of the school. However, we cannot help but wonder whether, in order to make a profit and generate a return for its investor, Rocky Vista will have to divert funds that could otherwise be used to enhance research and education, while at the same time maximizing price (tuition) to competitive market levels.

1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 production in the isolated perfused rat kidney in response to changing perfusate phosphorus concentrations and insulin-like growth factor

We used the isolated perfused rat kidney as a model to assess the direct, acute effect of perfusate phosphorus and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) (somatomedin-C) on renal 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 1-α-hydroxylase (1-α-hydroxylase) activity. 1-α-hydroxylase activity was assessed by measuring the conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) (20 ng/mL of perfusate, total volume 100 mL) to 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) using a radioreceptor assay specific for 1,25(OH)2D3. In experiment 1, all perfusions were performed with constant perfusate calcium (2.5 mmol/L) and four different concentrations of phosphate (2.0, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25 mmol/L). In experiment 2, perfusions were performed with normal perfusate calcium (2.5 mmol/L) and phosphorous (2.0 mmol/L) and three different levels of IGF-I (0, 1, and 3 μg/mL of perfusate). Analysis of variance showed a significant (P < 0.05) difference in 1-α-hydroxylase activity between groups in both experiments 1 and 2. In experiment 2, this difference is shown with increasing time of perfusion. These data indicate that there is an increase in 1-α-hydroxylase activity in response to decreasing perfusate phosphorous concentration and a high concentration of IGF-I.

Social unrest and the Highway Beautification Act of 1965

ABSTRACT The recent series of very senseless shootings of both African American males and police officers are chilling visual demonstrations of the current degree of racial tension and social unrest in the United States. Stricter gun control laws are critically important but only part of the issue. Basic human and civil rights are at the heart of the issue. We must move toward a society in which individuals from varied backgrounds are valued, respected, and included. We must all accept the fact that we are all human beings and very much alike. This will require a national effort very similar to the Highway Beautification Act of 1965. We must adopt and implement policies that will specifically address multiple issues (discrimination, racism, marginalization, exclusion, implicit bias, and the lack of economic mobility) serving as drivers of our current social state. A key component should be increased investment in the educational system (starting in primary school) resulting in an increased college graduation rate and the development of curricula on race and racism and supporting cultural sensitivity and implicit bias training from kindergarten through professional schools.