Two years ago, I received an email from an administrator within the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine asking me to meet with some educators from the Mütter Museum. There were no specifics, just a request to go across town to the College of Physicians as a representative of the Penn Med LGBT People in Medicine student group. I said yes, unsure of what to expect, and hoped that they might let me wander the museum’s incredible exhibits as a perk.
If you have never visited the College of Physicians, you should make it a priority. When you walk into the marble lobby, you immediately realize the historic importance of the college. Busts of famous physicians line the walls; displays showing the aesthetically appealing side of histology are peppered throughout; and a small alcove with lush red carpet leads into one of Philadelphia’s most interesting attractions — the Mütter Museum. I was greeted by Jacqui Bowman, the director of the Center for Education and Public Initiatives, and Karim Sariahmed, an intern at the college. I quickly learned that I had found a home, one that I would visit almost monthly. Since then, Jacqui, Karim, Jeanene Johnson, Quincy Greene, countless others and I have been meeting, planning and implementing our brainchild: Out4STEM.
Out4STEM is a collaborative effort between the College of Physicians, the Penn Med LGBT People in Medicine and the Education Justice Coalition. Our mission is to provide educational programming, academic support and career advising to LGBTQ young adults. Drawing from our diverse experiences and the abundant resources available through the college, we designed Out4STEM to emphasize education and careers within STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
One of my favorite events to date was our first: We had medical students give guided tours of the Mütter Museum to groups of three to five Out4STEM scholars. I was stationed at a display on small pox and facilitated discussions surrounding vaccination. Group after group of scholars actively engaged in dialogue about Edward Jenner, HPV vaccination and outbreaks of mumps and measles due to poor vaccine coverage. Since this event, we have hosted career-advice panels, question-and-answer sessions with college admissions officers and activities that focused on the particular challenges of LGBTQ youth, like coming out and emotional hardship. Our fall programming includes a college information session, a job fair and an observance of World AIDS Day. Through these and other programs, we hope to continue to reach out to LGBTQ young adults and provide them with a safe space to come learn and be themselves.
If you would like to get involved, please visit www.collegeofphysicians.org/education/out4stem/, follow our Twitter @Out4STEMprogram or email us at [email protected].
Ted Kreider, 27, is a sixth-year MD-Ph.D. student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time as a graduate student, Kreider has been studying the immune response during HIV infection in hopes of furthering vaccine development.