Transcription:
So the mission statement’s very simple – to train culturally competent health care workers using research and academics to do it.
I was one of those individuals who went through medical school. And for some times, I was told that I just could not be a doctor. And I didn’t want that to happen to somebody else.
Having somebody who looks like me as a Hispanic female would make a lot of people more comfortable.
We need to start looking at how do we get students from inner city America? How do we get students from rural America into the healthcare workforce.
And so in this role, I think it’s important to train culturally competent medical students who are humble, who understand the barriers that exist when our patients try to get into the healthcare system.
The students that are going to go back into these communities of need are students from those areas.
Ponce’s mission statement is the reason why I did apply and not even just saying it, but actually doing it to be the change that we want to see.
Because we’re willing to take that risk and give students opportunities that no one else will creates a very unique type of school, something that’s very different than all the other 144 medical schools in the United States.
