Nearly 100 members and friends of the Alliance of Minority Physicians (AMP) gathered at the Penn Museum to honor what Perelman School of Medicine Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine Iris Reyes calls “an extraordinary group of residents and fellows from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in medicine as they move on to the next phase of their careers.”

Highlights of this year’s gala program included a keynote speech by Nursing School Dean Antonia Villarruel, who spoke about “disparities in healthcare and our privileged role in remedying them,” according to Reyes, AMP founder and faculty co-adviser.

Remedying healthcare disparities and developing leaders for people who are traditionally underrepresented in medicine, or URM, is at the heart of AMP’s mission and in the mind of every member. Executive board member Paris Butler, who will be joining the Division of Plastic Surgery at Penn after completing his residency this summer, has been in charge of AMP’s recruitment initiatives for three years—initiatives which he collectively calls “one of the best ways to combat health care disparities.” He notes that these initiatives helped increase the number of incoming URM housestaff (residents and interns) this year to 47, up from 33 last year.

Bringing URMs into the pipeline—the stages of education by which medical students become senior faculty and attending physicians—is critical, Butler says, “because physicians of color tend to take care of more patients of color and of more underinsured and uninsured patients than the general population [of physicians].”

Physicians of color make a profound impact on their patients in qualitative as well as quantitative ways. Executive board member George Dalembert, who is spending next year as chief resident of pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) before going on to pursue a Master of Public Policy, shares what he describes as his most poignant memory from his time in training.

“I treated a boy in the emergency department one night, and his mother, a black woman, said to me, ‘Your mom and dad must be so proud of you.’ I said, ‘I hope so.’ She got tearful and replied, ‘No, they are, because I am, because you are a role model for my son.’ I had to step back for a moment to realize how much that 30 minutes I spent with her and her son meant to her.”

In addition to being inspiring role models for people of color they serve, physicians of color are critical role models and mentors for the people of color coming up the pipeline behind them.

“Meeting people through AMP who have been able to mentor me and guide me has been really important,” says fourth-year resident Eugenia South, who will be joining PSOM’s Emergency Medicine faculty as an assistant professor in July.

In addition to the informal mentoring that takes place within the group, AMP formalizes mentorship, dividing all the members into cohesive groups or “families” which include members in every stage of the pipeline, from medical students to residents and fellows to attending physicians.

Laura Rubinos, a third-year neonatology fellow who recently took a faculty position at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to be near family, says “it felt very welcoming to already be plugged into this mentorship model when I arrived at Penn.”

Rubinos says AMP’s professional development programming has thoroughly prepared her for the kinds of challenges she will face as a minority in medicine and the first person in her family to graduate from high school.

As co-chair of the professional development committee, she says, “Our speakers and workshop leaders share their experiences of being first-generation college students or URMs, which is an aspect that doesn’t get addressed in workshops aimed at a wider audience.”

This kind of preparation is important, says Reyes, “because you could be the only URM in your department—I was in my residency—and despite the fact that you have interaction and shared experiences on a clinical level, it’s difficult to share things and be as open as you would be if you’re not comfortable in that setting.”

Reyes credits Penn President Amy Gutmann and PSOM Dean Larry Jameson for supporting the organization since its inception. In addition, AMP has enjoyed widespread institutional support from PJ Brennan, chief medical officer and senior vice president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Eve Higginbotham, vice dean of inclusion & diversity; Joseph St. Geme, physician-in-chief and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at CHOP; and Stephen Ludwig, medical director of international medical education at CHOP. Dalembert says they all “make an effort to attend our events and show that they truly believe in the importance of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

“Now,” he adds with a broad smile, “it’s just a matter of accomplishing it.”