AAMC Reporter: January 2005

Harvard Leader Opens Door to Medical Careers

Joane Reede, M.D., MPH, Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership, Harvard Medical School

When Joan Reede, M.D., MPH, decided to become a doctor in the seventh grade, she did not have a concrete reason for her choice except that she enjoyed watching medical television dramas such as Ben Casey. But that childhood affinity propelled her through years of medical education, then down a path of caring for the underserved and into her current professional role.

As Harvard Medical School's first dean for diversity and community partnership, Dr. Reede, an African-American pediatrician, founded and directs more than 15 programs that increase diversity and the awareness of diversity in academic medical education. Her work and leadership impact a wide range of people, ranging from junior high school students to faculty members on fellowship.

Increased diversity in medical education and improved healthcare are strongly intertwined, according to Dr. Reede. If medical students are trained with members of other races and cultures, they will be better prepared to understand and effectively treat patients from different ethnicities. One program, called the Biomedical Science Careers Program, supports this goal among students of all ages.

During a Harvard fellowship in 1990, Dr. Reede, along with several colleagues, created the careers program to bolster minorities in the biomedical and biotechnology fields. All races, backgrounds and genders can join the program, but the main focus remains underrepresented populations. To date, more than 4,250 students, 500 postdoctoral trainees and junior faculty participated in the program's initiatives.

The program encourages students of all ages to take an interest in the sciences. Middle school students learn about research laboratories and science careers through the explorations initiative. Upper-level high school and college students receive help with college, medical or graduate school applications and interviewing skills in the Skills Development Program.

"We want to help these students understand their various career paths," Dr. Reede said. "We work with youth who like science and help them reach their potential. We need people like that to be leaders in healthcare, to be professors, administrators and policymakers."

While all of Dr. Reede's programs strive to improve minority student access to healthcare careers, she said it is most important to provide assistance at every level of an academic career path. For any true progress to occur and continue, help must be ongoing, far beyond what her programs have to offer.

Young students are not the only ones who benefit from Dr. Reede's leadership. Minority physicians and others interested in meeting the health needs of minority populations can secure assistance through The Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy, a program Dr. Reede founded in 1995. This enterprise incorporates courses from the Harvard School of Public Health, the John F. Kennedy School of Govern-ment, the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Business School.

Fellowship recipients are post-residency physicians who wish to pursue a career in public health practice, policy or academia. They receive a $50,000 stipend, full tuition for a master's degree, health insurance, books, travel and related expenses, and financial support for a practicum project. The goal is to train physician-leaders who will improve the healthcare system's ability to serve minority and disadvantaged groups.

"This is a unique program because it speaks to access and to poverty issues," Dr. Reede said. "We bring in highly talented people who want to be change agents and provide them additional skill sets for their work."

Of the physicians who received fellowships, Dr. Reede said 70 percent to 80 percent are members of medical school faculties, and 100 percent work in areas addressing healthcare disparities and minority health issues.

In addition, approximately 600 third- and fourth-year minority medical students have participated in the visiting clerkship program Dr. Reede started at Harvard Medical School. The program is designed to assist students and increase minority presence in academic medicine. Fifteen percent have returned to Harvard as residents, fellows or faculty. A total of 16 faculty members are program alumni.

Throughout her career, Dr. Reede said she's worked tirelessly to address poverty and the lack of access to healthcare, two issues that greatly affect racial and ethnic minorities. She has volunteered in prisons, children's psychiatric hospitals and homes for unwed mothers. In medical school, she also donated her time teaching high school students.

"I've had a long-standing interest in helping others in a position that they may not be able to help themselves," she said. "The connection between this and what I do now is that I help people to achieve their potential. Medicine is enriched when we have diverse thinking, diverse backgrounds and diverse interests brought to the table."

-Whitney L.J. Howell, whowell@aamc.org

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