The American Academy of Ophthalmology's (AAO) Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program, officially launched in 2018 after a two-year pilot, aims to increase diversity in the field of ophthalmology by helping medical students who are underrepresented minorities in medicine become competitive ophthalmology residency applicants. The American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) proudly signed on as a program sponsor last year in support of this laudable mission.
The AAO recently reported on the early success of the new initiative:
The mentoring class of 2018 includes 22 students from 15 schools across the country
100% of participants would recommend the program to a friend
4 out of 5 students report that they are interested in applying to an ophthalmology training program
More than 150 ophthalmologists are supporting the program as mentors, presenters, and medical school liaisons.
Although underrepresented minority groups comprise 30.7% of the U.S. population, they only make up 6% of practicing ophthalmologists, according to the AAO.
For information on how you can get involved, visit the AAO Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program website: https://www.aao.org/minority-mentoring.