GoodRx Helps Announces 2022 Future Black Physicians and Physician Associates Scholarship Winners

We're proud to announce this year's winners of the GoodRx Helps Future Black Physicians and Physician Associates Scholarship. Providing financial support to individuals in underrepresented groups helps further our goal to promote diversity and inclusion in the healthcare workforce.

For this year's application, we asked applicants to consider the increased rates of depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend disproportionately affects communities already vulnerable to mental health issues, such as those who identify as LGBTQ+ or racial minorities. We encouraged the applicants to reflect on how they, as future healthcare providers, could help remedy or prepare for these mental health challenges.

There were close to 200 incredible and inspirational applicants. Here, we've summarized the entries from the 10 winners. We're proud to support these students in their career aspirations and can't wait to see how they change the face of healthcare.

Oseme Precious Okoruwa

Indiana University School of Medicine, MD, Class of 2025

Precious was inspired to pursue a career in medicine after volunteering at a free health clinic as an undergrad. She wants to be a bridge between the medical field and communities that tend to distrust it. She also would like to mentor other medical students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Precious recognizes that our current mental health emergency is at least partly due to a shortage of mental health providers. This leads to poor access and long wait times. To address this, she proposes the development of mid-level psychiatric training programs.

"Mental health advocates" from the program would be intermediaries between patients and their physicians. The advocates would be equipped to connect patients with community resources and recognize the need for medication changes. She hopes the advocates would have similar characteristics or life experiences as their patients, which would build trust and make patients feel more comfortable.

David Grayson Taylor Jr.

University of Mount Union, PA, Class of 2023

Grayson is a certified nursing assistant with several years of volunteer experience. He enjoys giving back to his community and feels that becoming a physician associate is a natural next step in that mindset.

When addressing the mental health crisis, Grayson believes it's important for healthcare providers to create a safe space in which to discuss mental health. He is also an advocate for the use of telemedicine to improve access to mental health resources. And he calls for increasing diversity among professional staff in order to build trust in communities of color.

Rimel Mwamba

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, MD, Class of 2025

Rimel is a lifelong learner and researcher. She has participated in experiential and research programs across Africa and in the U.S., studying health disparities. Her goal is to combine medicine and community work to bring care to underserved communities.

As a CPR instructor, Rimel interacts with physicians, students, and community members as part of a larger program. She wants to use the program as a model to help remedy the growing mental health crisis in the U.S. She believes training trusted community leaders on how to field mental health crises and providing them with necessary resources would be beneficial. This would ultimately decentralize mental health care and improve access for the underserved.

Emmanuel Ihionkhan

Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, MD, Class of 2025

Emmanuel has experience in the pharmaceutical industry and as an emergency medical technician. He enrolled in medical school to serve communities in need. He's especially interested in helping to bring down high mortality rates and improve life expectancies in Nigeria.

Emmanuel thinks healthcare providers can help tackle the mental health issues in the U.S., which were worsened by the social isolation of the pandemic and disproportionately affected marginalized communities. He believes primary care clinicians should receive more training on managing mental health challenges, particularly in marginalized communities. Social determinants of health should be factored into training, and providers should be culturally sensitive to the interplay between culture and mental illness. Health systems should also integrate mental health services into primary care.

Lynn-Caelle Valere

University of Central Florida College of Medicine, MD, Class of 2025

Lynn-Caelle has a passion for learning and community service. Medicine allows her to use her strengths to improve the lives of those in her community, especially those who have fallen through the cracks in the healthcare system.

Lynn-Caelle calls for greater initiative in destigmatizing mental illness. In addition to promoting knowledge, she supports the creation and enforcement of laws that protect those who seek care in order to decrease the fear of repercussions.

She cites disparities in healthcare associated with socioeconomic status, limitation of certified providers, and structural barriers. To combat this, she advocates for incentives for healthcare professionals to provide mental health care at equitably distributed locations, especially in rural and economically disadvantaged areas.

Josiah Celestine

University of South Florida, PA, Class of 2024

Josiah is a PA student who builds upon his years of volunteer work, research experience, and former role as a medical assistant. He enjoys helping others and hopes to one day practice in underserved communities.

Josiah believes in destigmatizing mental health issues. He thinks that healthcare systems should implement targeted public health initiatives in communities where people are disproportionately affected by mental health problems. Healthcare providers must be prepared to identify mental health challenges and help their patients with them. He plans to use his lived experiences to connect with his patients in this way.

Ifunanya Ejikeme

Kansas City University, DO, Class of 2023

Ifunanya's compassion and service drew her into a career in medicine. She currently volunteers for various organizations and dreams of opening a free clinic in Nigeria while working part-time in the U.S.

Ifunanya believes improving access to healthcare could help combat the disproportionate rates of depression and anxiety in Black, Latino, LGBTQ+, and Indigenous communities. She also believes that mental illness doesn't look the same in every patient population, so it's up to healthcare providers to care for patients holistically.

What's more, she says equity in the medical school admissions process could lead to better health outcomes by improving the patient-physician relationship.

Chinedum Nkemakolam

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, DO, Class of 2025

Chinedum was raised with the values of hard work, diligence, and humility. While these skills help with medical school studies, he also embodies the importance of work-life balance with his community service, volunteering, and sports participation.

Chinedum acknowledges that stressors like the pandemic can negatively affect the mental and physical health of many, though social determinants of health also play a role. As a future leader in healthcare, he plans to join free health clinics and service groups that provide clinical, emotional, and moral support to low-income and underrepresented communities. He also advocates for expanding community services and diversifying healthcare teams.

Brianna Blake

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, MD, Class of 2025

Brianna is passionate about improving minority representation in medicine and is driven to make a difference. She currently participates in a variety of programs that support local communities and increase representation in healthcare, including a local free healthcare clinic run by clinical students.

In order to tackle the mental health crisis, Brianna advocates for allyship, advocacy, reduction of financial strain, and improved access to education and healthcare. She believes in a holistic approach to mental health care and calls for federal funding to create holistic programming. Finally, she says creating environments for open conversation about mental health at all educational levels, but especially for youth, can help destigmatize mental health care.

Adjoa Ghansah

A.T. Still University, PA, Class of 2023

Adjoa has already held a variety of healthcare positions, including certified nursing assistant (CNA), medical scribe, sterile processing technician, and cardiac ICU secretary. Her long-term goal is to create programs that support women of color in their prenatal care. She feels passionately about addressing the disparities and challenges that pregnant people of color face in the healthcare system.

Regarding the increase in mental health problems in minority groups, Adjoa believes the healthcare system must first address the issues of mistrust and accessibility. She proposes an anonymous, peer-to-peer counseling platform for individuals experiencing similar hardships, as well as mobile mental health clinics with licensed therapists that would travel to rural and underserved areas. She has a good grasp of what drives medical mistrust and is well prepared to address it with her own patients.

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