Tulane Urology launches program to increase diversity in field

Out of the more than 13,000 practicing urologists across the United States, less than 7% of those physicians are Black or Hispanic. The Department of Urology at Tulane University School of Medicine launched a program to increase diversity in the field. The Purposeful Infrastructure Promoting Equality (PIPE) Scholars Program aims to encourage underrepresented in medicine students to take an interest in medicine, attend a medical school, and then, hopefully, pursue urology as a career.

Students who have completed two years of college and who show an interest in a medical career can apply for the program. From the applicant pool, two are chosen to become scholars and spend the summer studying science and conducting research under the mentorship of Tulane urology faculty.

The PIPE Scholars for summer 2022 are Sydney Ambrose of Xavier University and Brooke Turner of Howard University. Ambrose and Turner are learning basic science research and shadowing faculty in the urology clinic at Tulane Medical Center.

Raju Thomas, MD, Professor and Chair of Tulane Urology, hopes similar programs will be established around the country.

“It’s vital that we have doctors who reflect the patients we treat,” said Thomas. “Our goal is to bring about a sense of equity not only in medicine, but specifically in the much-needed field of urology.”