Our Impact

Norma Poll-Hunter, PhD, serves as the Senior Director of Workforce Diversity at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Principal Investigator for the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP). During this presentation, Dr. Poll-Hunter shares several initiatives spearheaded by the AAMC and SHPEP National Program Office to assist men of color on their path into the health professions.

SHPEP 2023 Scholar Data

990

total scholars accepted

564

scholars qualified for a Federal Pell Grant

73.74%

scholars from underrepresented backgrounds

Gender	Percentage of Matriculants¹
Male	27.07%
Female	72.93%

Ethnicity	Percentage of Matriculants¹
Black/African American	48.08%
Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx	23.13%
Asian	15.76%
White	5.76%
Other	2.73%
American Indian and Alaska Native	2.53%
Native Hawaiian	1.01%

Matriculant¹: an applicant who was accepted and participated in the program.

Creating a Culture of Health

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) is part of an effort by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that works to build a Culture of Health. As the nation’s largest philanthropy focused on improving health and health care, RWJF strives to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all to live longer, healthier lives now and for future generations. Aspiring health professionals are poised to be tomorrow’s change leaders in helping build a Culture of Health in their communities and the nation. And to bring about meaningful change, health professionals must know how to learn and work together across disciplines. SHPEP exposes students to a range of health professions to help realize this vision.

“…do what you love, and you’ll never regret it!”

Aaron D. Dotson, MD, 2012 Program participant Read Aaron D. Dotson, MD’s Story

“SMDEP was an integral part of my undergrad career because it gave me my first real experience with medical schools and the medical field, and offered me the opportunity to meet other minority pre-health students…”

Elias Hilaire, 2015 Program participant Read Elias Hilaire’s Story

“There are people who have had obstacles similar to yours and have accomplished exactly what you want to do. Programs like SMDEP (now SHPEP) can help you do that.”

Shantel Jiggetts, MD, 2008 Program participant Read Shantel Jiggetts, MD’s Story

Learn more about our scholarships for alums!

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