Medicine Immersion Day by Intermountain Health and Black Physicians of Utah at Alta View Hospital

For the second consecutive year, Intermountain Health and Black Physicians of Utah collaborated to hold Medicine Immersion Day, a community event to benefit and provide resources to Black — an underrepresented minority — Utah high school students and undergraduates increase excitement and interest in careers in healthcare.

The 2nd annual Medicine Immersion Day was hosted at Intermountain Alta View Hospital in Sandy, Utah and provided the opportunity for high school juniors, seniors and college students pursuing careers in medicine to gain insight from physicians and medical staff in various medical specialties.

“Alta View Hospital is proud to partner with Black Physicians of Utah. Our hope is that immersive Medicine Day will inspire young black students to consider careers in medicine,” said Scott Roberson, administrator of Intermountain Alta View Hospital.

“Since education and vocation are such important social determinants of health, inspiring youth in all of our communities to consider a career in medicine goes a long way toward fulfilling our mission of helping people live the healthiest lives possible,” Roberson added.

A recent report, In the Nation’s Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Health-Care Workforce, found that increasing ethnic and racial diversity among health professionals is vital because evidence indicates that diversity is associated with improved access to care for racial and ethnic minority patients, greater patient choice and satisfaction, and better educational experiences for health professions-based students, among other benefits.

The full-day event at Intermountain Alta View Hospital encompassed various workshops, panels, and more to fully immerse students into a day in the life of a medical care provider.

Students had opportunities to participate in breakout groups in a variety of specialties. One opportuing gave students the chance to see labor and delivery. In another, they were able to scrub in and visit an operating room where they learned about its procedures, talk about  anesthesia, and even participate in a hands-on simulation where they administered sutures.

These opportunities were meant to allow students to better understand the experiences of physicians of color who found their paths into medicine, ask questions, and receive mentorship and advice.

“I strongly believe in the saying, ‘If you can see it, you can be it’,” said Richard Ferguson, MD, president and founder of Black Physicians of Utah. “Mentorship by Black physicians and other providers of color gives guidance and opportunities to marginalized groups, like African Americans in Utah, who are often overlooked or dismissed. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the mentors who fostered my interests in science and medicine at an early age.”

Medicine Immersion Day will continue to evolve as an annual event and be a resource to students of color throughout the community in Utah.

MEDIA NOTE: Photos and video available upon request.

About Intermountain Health

Headquartered in Utah with locations in seven states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 3,900 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.