According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, Black women make up less than 3% of doctors in the U.S. The National Society of Black Women in Medicine’s goal is to change that number.
The organization, founded at Florida State University in 2017, was brought to LSU in 2023. Most members remember its modest beginnings with a much smaller pool of students. Now, nearly three years later, the club and the women within are striving toward careers as healthcare professionals.
The organization’s national goal is to increase the recruitment and retention of Black women in medical fields, one aspiring student at a time. For LSU NSBWM President Irisa Lincoln, her main mission is to support the organization’s members.
“The most comforting thing about entering the world of medicine, or any workforce really, is looking up to the like-minded women who did it before you,” Lincoln said.
NSBWM often organizes guest speakers composed of various physicians, doctors and dentists around Baton Rouge to visit the club. Lincoln said it’s a great way for members to ask specific questions based on the career they’re working toward, but also to see someone similar to them achieve the same goals.
The main support system comes from within the chapter, though. According to Lincoln, the upperclassmen who apply and are accepted into medical or graduate school offer guidance to the underclassmen. She said applying to medical school can be a grueling process, and there’s lots of details and deadlines students need to be aware of. Because of that, NSBWM offers workshops led by students in the organization who have been through that process.
“If a girl texts me and asks, ‘Can you get coffee with me on Saturday and help me go over my MCAT schedule?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, sure, let’s go,’” Lincoln said.
While she said the support received from LSU’s academic advisors has been nothing short of amazing, there are some things advisors can’t help with, like showing minority representation in a difficult path.
Junior Peyton Dunn, the organization’s secretary, said that before she joined NSBWM, she didn’t think she’d be able to accomplish a career in medicine since it seemed so daunting. Through her time as a member, she gained confidence by being introduced to professionals who have accomplished the same path she desires.
“Hearing that not all of them have been a 4.0 student or knew since kindergarten they wanted to be a doctor made me feel like this is something I can do,” Dunn said.
For her, she finds the club necessary for women to diminish the doubts associated with the statistics for Black women entering healthcare.
“When you look at strictly statistics or numbers, it’s scary and it seems improbable that you could do that,” Dunn said. “Having this club for support as a minority is big.”
While she currently studies kinesiology, she hopes to one day become an optometrist.
The sentiment remains true for most members. Mahogany Leonard, a biomedical science student who hopes to become an obstetrician, said that as a Black woman pursuing a career in medicine, she feels she has to work 10 times harder than anyone else. She said she knows it won’t be an easy career and it will only get more difficult, but having similar women around in the same field is comforting for her.
Leonard said attendance is encouraged within the club for maximum success. Going to the meetings is helpful because the executive board tries to plan events to benefit every student since its members are so diverse — from aspiring physicians, nurses, dentists and doctors, the goal is to help every woman get her foot in the door.
She said an emergency medicine doctor spoke to the club — a field that she wouldn’t have thought about prior, but is now interested in.
As for freshman Elise Lanier, an aspiring dermatologist or allergist, the organization is not only an opportunity to optimize her career, but a community of connections and friends.
“It’s a balance between work and social events,” Lanier said.
The organization offers everything from mock interviews and resume building practice to pumpkin painting and fitness classes. Another point of pride is the community outreach and public service they do, most recently with a women’s shelter clothing drive and a Boys & Girls Club food drive. They do events year-round, both collaboratively and individually.
For anyone hoping to become a member, Leonard said everyone is very welcoming and that if you’re even slightly curious, you should come to a meeting.
“Put yourself out there; the worst someone can say is no,” Leonard said. “But here, you wouldn’t get a no.”
