SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Good Things Utah) - Intermountain Health and Black Physicians of Utah are collaborating on the 3rd annual Medicine Immersion Day, a community event focused on introducing Black and other Utahns of color to the field of medicine and empowering them to become physicians and learn more about healthcare careers.

The 3rd annual Medicine Immersion Day will be hosted at Intermountain Alta View Hospital in Sandy on Saturday, Sept 7, and provides the opportunity for Black and other young people, ages 16-25, to learn more to pursue a career or in various medical specialties.

“Alta View Hospital is proud to partner with Black Physicians of Utah. Our hope is that this immersive Medicine Day will inspire young Black students and other students of color to consider careers in medicine,” said Scott Roberson, president of Intermountain Alta View Hospital.

A recent report, In the Nation's Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Health-Care Workforce, reported that increasing ethnic and racial diversity among health professionals is important because evidence indicates that diversity is associated with improved access to care for racial and ethnic minority patients, greater patient choice and satisfaction, and better educational experiences for health professions-based students, among other benefits.

A recent report from Kaiser Health News show that medical schools around the country are working to recruit Black, Hispanic, and Native American students, all of whom are underrepresented in the field of medicine. Research has shown that patients of color often prefer seeing doctors of color.

“Since education and vocation are such important social determinants of health, inspiring Black youth to consider a career in medicine goes a long way toward fulfilling our mission of helping people live the healthiest lives possible,” said Roberson.

This full day event at Intermountain Alta View Hospital encompasses various workshops, panels, and more, to fully immerse students into a day in the life of a physician.

Students are welcomed and have opportunities to participate in breakout groups where they can experience specialties such as labor and delivery, scrub in and visit an operating room, where they will learn about its procedures and anesthesia, as well as a hands-on simulation where they will learn to perform sutures.

Niyera Nyandagaro is a current senior finishing her undergraduate degree at the University of Utah. She was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania and resettled in Salt Lake City at the age of 5 and was raised in Salt Lake City.

She is in her Senior Year and majoring in Health, Society, and Policy and minoring in Chemistry. She plans to apply to medical schools next year after graduating. Medicine Immersion Day has been a great resource to her as she has attended the past two years.

“Each event just keeps getting better, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be in the same space of such amazing and inspiring physicians and peers who share the same passion for healthcare,” said Nyandagaro. “One of the things I love most about these events is the chance to gain insight into countless specialties and fields of medicine – some of which I didn’t even know existed. The hands-on experience we get is invaluable, especially for first generation students like me.”

Additionally, students will have the opportunity to attend a job fair with leading healthcare and biotechnology organizations that includes, Intermountain Health, SelectHealth Insurance, ARUP Laboratories, and Myriad Genetics.

Students will not only experience life in the day of physicians of color but will have the chance to gain paid clinical experience through positions at the Medicine Immersion Day Job Fair.

These opportunities allow students to better understand the experiences of Black physicians and physicians of color that found their paths into medicine, ask questions, and receive advice.

“It’s one thing to imagine yourself in the medical field, but to actually practice skills like placing breathing tubes under the guidance of an Anesthesiologist, as I did last year, makes it feel real and attainable,” said Nyandagaro.

“Before attending the Medical Immersion Day, I never pictured myself in certain roles, like anesthesiology. But something as simple as practicing with a scope and seeing the lungs of a mannequin expand as I worked really made me believe that this is possible for me. That’s the beauty of Medical Immersion Day—it not only shows you what’s possible but also lights a fire within you, making those dreams feel not just possible, but inevitable.”

“I strongly believe in the saying, ‘If you can see it, you can be it’,” said Richard Ferguson, MD, president and founder of Black Physicians of Utah. “Mentorship by Black physicians and other providers of color gives guidance and opportunities to marginalized groups, like African Americans in Utah, who are often overlooked or dismissed. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the mentors who fostered my interests in science and medicine at an early age.”

Medicine Immersion Day will continue to evolve as an annual event and be a resource to students of color throughout the community in Utah.

The deadline for registration is September 4. Those interested in registering can get more information at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/933616781927?aff=oddtdtcreator

Sponsored by Intermountain Health