Commentary

American Academy of Ophthalmology and National Medical Fellowships Announce Recipients of New Scholarship

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The inaugural National Medical Fellowships Scholarship in Ophthalmology is awarded to Ja’Qulane Scales of Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, and Joshua Chazaro of Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill.

Published

5 years ago

January 11, 2019

Oakland Post

SAN FRANCISCO – The American Academy of Ophthalmology and National Medical Fellowships today announced the recipients of a new scholarship that supports the mission of both organizations to provide more opportunities to underrepresented minority students pursuing medical careers.

The inaugural National Medical Fellowships Scholarship in Ophthalmology is awarded to Ja’Qulane Scales of Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, and Joshua Chazaro of Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, Ill.

Both are second-year medical students participating in the Academy’s Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program, which was designed to attract underrepresented minorities to a career in ophthalmology and help prepare them to be competitive residency applicants.

National Medical Fellowships provides scholarships and support for underrepresented minority students in medicine and the health professions.

Since 1946, the organization has awarded more than 30,000 scholarships totaling $40 million.

In 2018, the organization generously offered to provide two $5,000 scholarships to students participating in the Academy’s v .

Recipients are selected based on leadership qualities demonstrated through their research, academic performance and extracurricular activities.

Funding for the scholarships are provided through a grant from Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation.

Both Scales and Chazaro are pursuing a medical education, not only to pave the way for minority students interested in becoming ophthalmologists, but also to provide better care to patients in underserved communities.

There is a critical need to diversify the medical workforce.

African Americans make up 12.8 percent of the general population, but only 2 percent of ophthalmologists.

Hispanics and Latinos make up 16.3 percent of the population, but only 4.6 percent of ophthalmologists.

Overall, the shortage of health care professionals in communities of color is estimated to be between 46,000 and 90,000 physicians by 2025.

Simply documenting the lack of diversity in the medical profession isn’t enough, action is required to create a change that can improve health outcomes.

That’s why the Academy and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology established the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program.

It pairs juniors and seniors in college and first- and second-year medical students with seasoned ophthalmologists dedicated to supporting their career development and helping them become competitive residency applicants.

Scales and Chazaro are among the first 22 students selected by the Academy to join the program for its inaugural year.

Scales is a native of Little Rock, Ark. and a member of the United States Navy. As a first-generation college graduate, she says the path to becoming an ophthalmologist can be challenging.

She’s grateful for the opportunity to be mentored by an established ophthalmologist. She intends to practice ophthalmology in an underserved community, working to close the gap in health disparities.

Chazaro is a native of Upland, Calif. Having witnessed the discomfort marginalized populations experience in a medical setting, he is committed to becoming a physician dedicated to delivering a better care experience.

“This scholarship will give me the opportunity to expand my goals as a medical student and further achieve my dreams,” Chazaro said.

“National Medical Fellowships (NMF) is thrilled to have collaborated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program and grateful to the Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation for its support,” said president and CEO Esther R. Dyer, MLS, DLS.

“Through this scholarship, NMF can support the next generation of diverse leaders in the highly competitive field of ophthalmology.”

Past president of the Academy, Keith D. Carter, M.D., FACS, is also a past recipient of an NMF scholarship.

“I have always been grateful for this generosity,” Dr. Carter said. “The scholarship was very important and inspirational because of the effort of an organization offering to assist me with my training expense.”

Visit the Academy at aao.org/minority-mentoring-students to learn more about the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program. Visit National Medical Fellowships online at nmfonline.org.

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Opinion: Lessons for Current Student Protesters From a San Francisco State Strike Veteran

How the nation’s first College of Ethnic studies came about, bringing together Latino, African American and Asian American disciplines may offer some clues as to how to ease the current turmoil on American college campuses over the Israel-Hamas war. After the deadline passed to end the Columbia University encampment by 2 p.m. Monday, student protesters blockaded and occupied Hamilton Hall in a symbolic move early Tuesday morning. Protesters did the same in 1968.

Published

18 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Oakland Post

iStock Photo

By Emil Guillermo

After the deadline passed to end the Columbia University encampment by 2 p.m. Monday, student protesters blockaded and occupied Hamilton Hall in a symbolic move early Tuesday morning.

Protesters did the same in 1968.

That made me think of San Francisco State University, 1968.

The news was filled with call backs to practically every student protest in the past six decades as arrests mounted into hundreds on nearly two dozen campuses around the country.

In 1970, the protests at Kent State were over the Vietnam War. Ohio National Guardsmen came in, opened fire, and killed four students.

Less than two weeks later that year, civil rights activists outside a dormitory at Jackson State were confronted by armed police. Two African American students were killed, twelve injured.

But again, I didn’t hear anyone mention San Francisco State University, 1968.

That protest addressed all the issues of the day and more. The student strike at SFSU was against the Vietnam war.

That final goal was eventually achieved, but there was violence, sparked mostly by “outside agitators,” who were confronted by police.

“People used the term ‘off the pigs’ but it was more rally rhetoric than a call to action (to actually kill police),” said Daniel Phil Gonzales, who was one of the strikers in 1968.

Gonzales, known as the go-to resource among Filipino American scholars for decades, went on to teach at what was the positive outcome of the strike, San Francisco State University’s College of Ethnic Studies. It’s believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. Gonzales recently retired after more than 50 years as professor.

As for today’s protests, Gonzales is dismayed that the students have constantly dealt with charges of antisemitism.

“It stymies conversation and encourages further polarization and the possibility of violent confrontation,” he said. “You’re going to be labeled pro-Hamas or pro-terrorist.”

That’s happening now. But we forget we are dealing not with Hamas proxies. We are dealing with students.

Gonzales said that was a key lesson at SF State’s strike. The main coalition driving the strike was aided by self-policing from inside of the movement. “That’s very difficult to maintain. Once you start this kind of activity, you don’t know who’s going to join,” he said.

Gonzales believes that in the current situation, there is a patch of humanity, common ground, where one can be both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel. He said it’s made difficult if you stand against the belligerent policies of Benjamin Netanyahu. In that case, you’re likely to be labeled antisemitic.

Despite that, Gonzales is in solidarity with the protesters and the people of Gaza, generally. Not Hamas. And he sees how most of the young people protesting are in shock at what he called the “duration of the absolute inhumane kind of persecution and prosecution of the Palestinians carried out by the Israeli government.”

As a survivor of campus protest decades ago, Gonzales offered some advice to the student protesters of 2024.

“You have to have a definable goal, but right now the path to that goal is unclear,” he said.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. A veteran newsman in TV and print, he is a former host of NPR’s “All Things Considered.”