Training more AI/AN dermatologists key
While efforts to increase the culturally respectful and sustainable dermatologic care for AI/AN individuals continue through programs like the continuity clinic at Montezuma Creek, sources interviewed for this story emphasized the importance of training more AI/AN dermatologists. “Of the people who graduate from high school, AIs have the lowest rate of going on to college,” said Dr. Kohn, who serves as a mentor to Mr. Hicks. “Let’s say they get all the way to medical school; it’s about good mentorship and support in what they’re pursuing. We are seeing more AIs in medical school now, something that I personally notice, and I notice it from what Chinle Service Unit tells me. They have received many requests from Native medical students and premed students who want to rotate at Chinle. Native trainees want the experience of being there.”
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the number of AI/AN applicants to medical schools increased from 72 in 2020-2021 to 105 in 2021-2022 but dipped slightly to 94 in 2022-2023. Inspired by a passion to serve Pine Ridge or a community like it, Mr. Hicks decided to apply for medical school. While he doesn’t want to “close any doors” on which medical specialty he ultimately chooses to practice, the current front-runner is dermatology, he said, largely because of the influence of Dr. Kohn and two Mayo dermatologists who have become mentors: Molly Lohman, MD, and Hafsa M. Cantwell, MD. “I didn’t see anyone from my background who was a doctor, so having those role models is so important for Native kids to think, ‘I can do this, too,’ and to pursue it,” he said.