Interventional radiology is a highly sought medical specialty, yet there are disparities in the presence of under-represented minorities medicine (URM) in the IR workforce. There are several known barriers that contribute to the lack of URMs in IR, from a low-level of awareness amongst trainees to a sparsity of IR training programs at medical schools with high URM enrollment.
Sophia Mourad
SIR’s Underrepresented Minorities Section was created in 2019 in part to increase awareness and exposure to IR. Led by Keith M. Horton, MD, FSIR, and Derek L. West, MD, MS, the URM in IR section seeks to engage providers across the career spectrum to improve patient care and access to careers in IR. Dismantling these barr
iers not only impacts URM physicians, but sets off chain reactions that impact patient health care disparities as well.
Below are the voices of six students pursuing careers in IR who have found support and access via the URM in IR section as they embark on their IR journeys.
Victoria Jackson
"Having a URM section means that I have a group of people who I feel comfortable going to when I have questions or need advice. To me, this group has been the most welcoming group of physicians in IR. I feel that they are willing to do anything in their power to help me succeed, and I look forward to collaborating with them as I continue to explore a career in Interventional Radiology.” –Sophia Mourad, MD candidate, Florida State University College of Medicine
Marcus Spady
“Being able to have connections with students, mentors, faculty, and physicians who are part of the URM is great and has definitely provided me a sense of comfort. To know that there is a growing number of minorities in this field lets me know that I belong, and I have a place. It brings joy and confidence in knowing that my future colleagues can understand our place in the world and actively work together to make a difference.” –Victoria Jackson, OMS-II, DO candidate, University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine
“Since joining the URM in IR section as a medical student, I have felt like I have found a family within IR. A place where I can share and comment freely about my experience, whether it be related to medicine or not, without feeling judged. A place where I can find mentorship, where I feel equal among attendings, residents and other students and can openly contribute ideas to advance the agenda of underrepresented minorities in IR.” –Marcus Spady, MD, Howard University College of Medicine
Vanessa Lisseus-Wright
“The URM section holds multiple meanings to us. It represents a place where I can meet mentors who have similar identities to mine and therefore hold this unspoken understanding of my journey and challenges. It is also a place where many of us have met and continue to meet future colleagues—medical students and trainees whom we have found represent some of the most thoughtful and kind thinkers in IR. The identities we hold allow us to relate to our diverse patient populations and think deeply about the daily challenges of those who are marginalized in society and medicine.
The URM section is crucial because it is a place to gather, share and learn. The IR community is already quite small and full of connections. Having a URM section allows opportunities for deeper connections and learning. It's essential to be able to visualize yourself along the training pathway of IR. Having the URM section as a place to meet folks who set examples for me is a perfect example of this process.
We see the section growing as the landscape of the IR workforce becomes more diverse and inclusive. We envision participating in future IR conferences throughout the country as attendees and speakers, and I truly hope the URM in IR Section grows in an intentional and impactful way to encourage young learners and to champion diversity and inclusion for the betterment of the specialty.” – Vanessa Lisseus-Wright, MD
Jabre Millon
“In my opinion, medicine consistently fails to capture the full talent of people of color, especially Black men. We live in a world of increasingly tech-heavy fields, Tik-Tok influencers, professional athletes and celebrities. These “flashier” careers capture the attention of our youth in ways that medicine simply doesn’t. This is in part due to the fact that BIPOC youth don’t see themselves represented as doctors.
As one of the more tech-driven and overall cooler specialties in medicine, IR is in a unique position to recruit URM youth. As someone who loves tech, I was originally interested in orthopedics because that was one of the more tech heavy fields. In addition, as a former division one athlete, orthopedics culture seemed like it would be a good fit.
However, I found that IR checks off all the same boxes as ortho but appeals more to digital-age youth. We should use that to our advantage when recruiting future IRs of color. In doing this, I believe the URM in IR Section could be the premier URM organization across medicine. When the time comes for the NFL and NBA drafts, people of color will be tuned in to those drafts in large numbers, but many will not be aware of what Match Day is.
Franklin Iheanacho
Match Day is my NFL draft. I grew up watching the NFL draft and have worked my entire life to have a moment like that with my people—it means the world to me. We have to do better in raising awareness to BIPOC youth that they are an indispensable part of the future medical workforce. I can only imagine how powerful it would be if we had kids looking up to us matching into our chosen specialties the same way they look up to athletes being drafted to their favorite team.” –Jabre Millon, M4, Kerkorian School of Medicine, UNLV
“The URM IR section is a group I am glad I’ve found. I became interested in IR even before medical school, but like many competitive specialties I noticed a lack of people of color. The URM IR section has allowed me to interact with other people of color that share my passion for IR. The URM section also introduced me to the Grants for Education of Medical Students (GEMS) Program which opened the gates for me to network with even more diverse peers in IR. It’s programs like this that demonstrate SIR’s and interventional radiology as a whole’s commitment to welcoming me and addressing the concerns of our diverse population.” –Franklin Iheanacho, MS3, Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University
