The Dream Makers vs The Dream Breakers

The Dream Makers vs The Dream Breakers

Shannon J. Smith, MD, FAAPMR, Board Member

I am very fortunate to have many positive influences in my life that fostered my dream to become a physician.  As a child, a favorite toy my parents gave me was a Fisher Price Medical Kit. My personal pediatrician shared stories of his own medical school experience during my annual visits.  A college professor instructed me to write a note on my dorm door that said “Dr. Shannon Smith, NOTHING can stop this dream from happening!”.

However, I have also had my share of deflectors.  My high school counselor dissuaded me from becoming a physician, saying that even though I had the grades and talent to become a doctor, he just “didn’t think the job would suit me”.  In a summer college pre-med program, a woman told my preceptor that she refused to see me, or any Black doctor. And, in medical school, I often worried about the financial burden I would face after completing my education and whether or not I would ever get out of student loan debt.

I still have the toy medical kit from my parents, and have handed it down to my own children.  I am ready to nurture the next generation of minority physicians. I realize that, they too, will have positive and negative impacts in their lives which will affect their upcoming career path.

ElevateMeD understands the struggles facing our country’s future doctors.  While the road isn’t easy, this organization is committed to help medical students coming from traditionally underrepresented communities navigate and become successful- personally, psychosocially and financially. 

Help us make someone else’s dream come true!

-Shannon J. Smith, MD, FAAPMR