First Cohort of HU Mini-Med Students Receive White Coats

For nearly a year, Dr. Angel Byrd accompanied a Howard University College of Medicine (HUCM) colleague and several medical students on monthly treks to Harriet Tubman Elementary School, where they exposed young people to careers in the medical field during after-school hours. 

The eight-month academic journey, known as HUCM’s Mini-Med Program, recently culminated in a graduation ceremony at Tubman Elementary, where 11 students received white coats as a testament to all they learned under the tutelage of Byrd, Dr. Mark Burke and dozens of Howard University medical students.

Byrd, an HUCM associate professor of dermatology, said she got just as much out of the experience. 

“I was there with one of the students [and] we really just had a bonding moment where both of our hair was curly and we [explored] the curly aspect of hair, then the biology of hair,” she recounted. “It was a moment where they saw themselves in me and I saw the promise in them. It was a very gratifying moment and one that I will probably forever remember.” 

Last year, when Byrd joined a team that included Burke and five HU medical students, Burke had already been conducting programming at Tubman Elementary School, located near the U Street corridor, for four years. 

In preparation for what would formally become the Mini-Med program, the septet designed a curriculum, prepared presentations, gathered medical supplies, and recruited nearly two dozen HU medical students who would serve as mentors to program participants. While on their short reprieve from postgraduate work, these medical students helped fourth, fifth and sixth graders navigate concepts, including: first aid, orthopedics, cardiothoracic systems, gastroenterology, dermatology, respiratory, dental, and skeletal muscle. 

Toward the end of each hourlong lesson, students completed an activity they took home to their parents. 

For Byrd, HUCM’s Mini-Med Program proved to be an ideal commitment for those yearning to connect with the D.C. community. 

“We’re always thinking [about] our day-to-day [that] we just can’t make time for something else,” Byrd said. “But I knew how important this was. … It was truly an effort. We were able to all get in there and put it to work to really be there for the students.”

A Ceremony to Always Remember

On April 24, students, teachers, staff members and parents converged on the auditorium of Tubman Elementary to watch the group of 11 third, fourth and fifth graders take part in a white coat ceremony. That afternoon, the small group recited the Hippocratic Oath and received white coats, similar to their medical school mentors and others who transitioned from non-clinical to clinical coursework.

For some Tubman Elementary students, like Samir Tomlin, the occasion proved an opportune time to think about his future. 

“We’re here today to celebrate my classmates and me for learning about how the body works and how to live a healthy lifestyle,” Samir said during the ceremony before introducing D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee. “Maybe one day some of us will become healthcare professionals so we can keep our friends and families happy and healthy.” 

Other speakers on April 24 included: Tubman Elementary principal Amanda Delabar; HUCM Dean Andrea Hayes-Dixon; and Mini-Med Program leader and HUCM student Akila Islam. 

In her remarks, Delabar evoked her school’s namesake, telling students they have the “strength, patience and passion” to change the world. 

“Our students, who are getting their white coats today, are those changemakers!” Delabar said on April 24. “Since October, I have been so proud to see them cultivate an interest in science and anatomy in this amazing partnership with the Howard University College of Medicine. I know we’re excited to see these students recognized for their hard work, excitement, and commitment to keeping themselves and those around them healthy.”  

The Bigger Picture 

While there was a steady increase in the Black medical student population from 2017 to 2024, data released earlier this year shows a decline of Black students matriculating to medical schools within the same period. 

That decline became a bit more pronounced in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action. 

The District, however, has seen an influx of Black and Latino first-year medical students, particularly at HUCM, which has garnered a reputation as a major incubator for Black doctors. This comes at a time when some people, like Burke, are getting an intimate understanding of how diversity in the medical profession changes youth’s perception of what’s possible. 

“I would have the students draw a picture of what they thought a scientist would look like,” Burke recounted to The Informer. “I still have those original pictures that the kids drew four years ago. Before [the program], the scientists look white with spiky hair like me, and afterwards there’s this one picture of [a] girl with dreadlocks, with a T-shirt on.” 

Burke, a professor of physiology and biophysics at HUCM, confirmed the launch of another Mini-Med Program cohort in the coming months. He credited his colleagues and the medical students who served as mentors as the engine for further formalizing what started as an endeavor in organic community engagement. 

“What I really loved about this year and how we expanded it … was that it was sustained engagement,” Burke said. “It was a true team effort, going out there once a month. It took a lot of thought … from the student’s point of view [for] faculty to[ask] what we need to do to put this thing together.”

Second-year medical student Caitlin Coyne said she wanted to be intentional with her students as they navigate material that, to some, may seem complex, or even boring. 

“Sometimes, I don’t know if they’re going to understand what we’re trying to tell them, but they do,” Coyne told The Informer. “We get kind of nervous about … how we were going to present or explain something … but you just talk to them, like a person, obviously, and they get what you’re saying. They’ll ask questions, [and] they’re not scared to tell us if they don’t understand something.” 

The students’ enthusiasm, Coyne said, sparked hope that young people can pursue careers that interest them, rather than succumb to limitations placed on them by geography or a narrow frame of reference. 

“They’re more excited to try new things, even if they’re not familiar with it,” Coyne said. “I hope … in the future, they want to try anything and they enjoy learning and that it’s never like a waste of time to try something new, even if it is scary.”

Islam, a second-year medical student hailing from Northern Virginia, told The Informer that her interaction with the elementary schoolers helped her explore various ways she could help those coming behind her. 

“If I didn’t go into medicine, I think I really would go into teaching,” Islam said. “There’s so much value in teaching younger students. You see the world differently and in many ways, it became more helpful for our future just because of how engaged and caring these students were.”  

In speaking about her academic journey, Islam acknowledged the community of people who supported her throughout her life, telling The Informer that she wanted to play a similar role for the youth who received their mini-med white coats.   

“Hopefully 10 years from now when they’re looking back at these pictures, just thinking back, they know that there’s people that believe in them,” Islam said. “And it doesn’t really matter if they’re going into healthcare or if they’re going into science even. I just want them to know that Howard and the surrounding community believe in them.”