The Youth Job Fair hosted by YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish this past September offered opportunity for UW Medicine to connect with aspiring healthcare professionals and doctors in partnership with EthnoMed, the Office of Healthcare Equity, Community House Calls, and the Harborview Medicine DEI Team. Thank you to Asmeret Tesfalem, Bridget Garland, Martine Pierre-Louis, and Jennifer Huong for showing that careers in healthcare are accessible and attainable for youth from marginalized communities.
The EthnoMed team shared information on their shadowing, mentorship, and internship opportunities for younger students and classes, and rotations and projects for graduate students, medical residents, and fellows. The Office of Healthcare Equity amplified the various programs in the Center for Workforce Inclusion and Healthcare System Equity (WIHSE), whose mission is to liberate all our communities’ brilliant potential to be future healthcare leaders. Young students had the chance to learn about how they can participate in all WIHSE programs, including Doctor for a Day, UDOC, SHPEP, and SHPEPLE. They learned about our DFAD monthly events (Sep–Jun), the upcoming UDOC and SHPEP application cycles, and the mission of the SHPEPLE program.
By promoting these opportunities, the WIHSE team aims to inspire youth with a sense of belonging and empowerment as they pursue futures in healthcare. Doctor for a Day’s purpose is to inspire and encourage educationally and economically under-resourced students to consider healthcare careers. Bridget Garland, Project Manager at the Office of Healthcare Equity shared, “Having a strong community and support network early in your career is key to gaining more experience, learning about the field, and having a sense of belonging—so seeing the friendships and professional networking between students who participate in WIHSE programs flourish is definitely most rewarding.”
You can learn more about community engagement events and programming offered across UW Medicine by heading to the links below. James Sherrell, Program Operations Specialist at Harborview Medical Center, spoke about the resources provided at the YWCA event: “My favorite is Doctor for a Day, where students work with our University of Washington School of Medicine and get the chance to see themselves in life-saving roles.”
