What a WCBD Brand Ambassador Looks Like.

Here at the WCBD headquarters- usually our living room or the student lounge at the hospital- we are often engaged in conversation about how we can effectively explain exactly what we're all about. Two of the most popular questions we get are "Do you have chapters at medical schools that I can join?" and "How can I get more involved?" The answers? "Not really." and "You tell us!" Clear as mud, we know.

The thing is, White Coats Black Doctors is not a fraternity, nor student organization. We are a nonprofit foundation driven by grassroots efforts of students and supporters across the country. It's your purchasing of merchandise to fund scholarships and community outreach, your volunteerism mentoring young people who want to pursue this journey, your endless advocacy for fairness and representation that carries the mission forward. Over 12 years ago, the Council on Graduate Medical Education  in the 2005 "Minorities in Medicine" report, 'Lack of persistence in completing high school and failure to enroll in and graduate from college are the greatest barriers to URM entry into medicine.' So, you can get creative with how you "get more involved" simply by meeting the needs in your community, to help increase the number of black boys and girls becoming black college graduates who eventually become black physicians. 

Kelley Butler is a perfect example.

Kelley is a second-year medical student at UC Irvine School of Medicine. We were excited to come across a video of Kelley teaching a group of 9th graders in her local community about sex ed and puberty, all while sporting some WCBD 'nalia. We were so happy to see Kelley take the WCBD mission to reach out to the next generation of black physicians, to mentor, inspire, and show how this movement is more than a fashion statement. We interviewed Kelley about her outreach efforts via email, and hope you'll learn a little something that will encourage you to take up the WCBD mission and make it your own. 


If you're interested in becoming a WCBD Ambassador, click here.

Read More