CINCINNATI — Second-year University of Cincinnati (UC) Medical Student Austin Thompson always dreamed of being a doctor.

What You Need To Know

  • University of Cincinnati Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedic Surgery Dr. Alvin Crawford recently started a mentorship program for Black male medical students

  • The program is called Black Men in Medicine Cincinnati

  • The purpose of the program is to make sure Black males graduate by giving them the resources they need to succeed

“I love challenging situations,” said Thompson. “I love challenges. I love tough things, and so when I was getting into college, med school just seemed like it was right for me.”

It’s been an exciting journey so far, but it hasn’t been the easiest. Thompson is one of only 27 Black men in UC's College of Medicine. He says it’s difficult not seeing Black men like himself. 

“You may not be able to see as many people who look like you doing what you’re doing,” he said.  “So, whether it’s you’re in class and you have all these clinical lectures and your professors who are doing lectures about whatever, it would be kind of refreshing to see someone who looks like you.”

And that is why UC Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedic Surgery Dr. Alvin Crawford created a mentorship program called Black Men in Medicine Cincinnati. 

“There is a diminishing, if not distressing and discouraging, number of African American males attending medical school, and we’re at a point where it’s become a reality that they're needed,” said Crawford.

The purpose of this program is to help Black men graduate medical school by giving them the resources they need to succeed. 

“I want to make sure that those individuals that would come in would have enough social support,” he said. "They’re going to come in with education and exposure—exposure to people who look like them who have been able to achieve and satisfy their goals and objectives.”

Thompson is one of several students in this new program and looks forward to the impact it will have with students like him. 

“I think that if we can continue to grow these numbers, it will inspire the generation behind us to continue to push the needle forward and inspire even more Black men and medicine that it’s possible,” said Thompson.