Narrator: Coming up on Mayo Clinic Q&A,
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: And as a minority, I always understood
that the fact that my road to becoming a surgeon would be a
little bit more difficult than others.
Narrator: This summer Mayo Clinic's orthopedic surgery
department and the Nth Dimensions internship program
will introduce two female medical students to the field of
orthopedic surgery. This internship offers a unique
opportunity for women and minority students to gain
valuable firsthand clinical and research experience.
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: I think it's important to have more
women, more people of color and diversity overall in orthopedic
surgery for several reasons. I mean, our population in America
is very diverse. I think our patients deserve an equally
diverse group of surgeons who are each equipped naturally with
different cultural competencies to help treat them.
Additionally, diversity in our surgeons will help decrease some
of the inequalities we see in healthcare and treatment of
patients today.
Deborah Balzer: Welcome to Mayo Clinic Q&A. I'm Deb Balzer
sitting in for Dr. Halena Gazelka. Of all the medical and
surgical subspecialties orthopedic surgery historically
has had the lowest percentage of women and minorities. Mayo
Clinic's orthopedic surgery department is working hard to
change that. This summer two female medical students are
participating in an eight-week clinical and research internship
in orthopedic surgery in Rochester, Minnesota. The
program was developed by Nth Dimensions, an organization that
seeks to bring more women and minorities into the profession.
With me today to discuss is Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon and
graduate of Nth Dimensions, Dr. Kelechi Okoroha. Doctor,
diversity, equity and inclusion are recognized as extremely
important currently. Can you tell us a little bit about your
journey, your story?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yeah, thanks for having me, Deb. Well,
a little bit more about me, I'm the son of two Nigerian
immigrants who migrated to America for better education
opportunities. And so, I grew up playing basketball and loving
sports, and then as my dreams and aspirations of playing in
the NBA faded, I transitioned my love into wanting to become a
great surgeon.
Deborah Balzer: Were there any obstacles doctor, related to
your lack of equity in your journey to become a physician
and an orthopedic surgeon?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yeah, well, I attended two HBCUs for
undergraduate and medical school in Xavier, University of
Louisiana, and Howard Medical School. So, I was always aware
of the differences in rates of minorities becoming physicians
and surgeons. And as a minority, I always understood that the
fact that my road to becoming a surgeon would be a little bit
more difficult than others, even more so because I didn't attend
any Ivy League schools. But I think I was prepared for that.
Deborah Balzer: Doctor, why is important to have more women and
people of color and diversity overall in orthopedic surgery?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: So, I think it's important to have more
women, more people of color and diversity overall in orthopedic
surgery for several reasons. I mean, our population in America
is very diverse. And I think our patients deserve an equally
diverse group of surgeons who are each equipped naturally with
different cultural competencies to help treat them.
Additionally, diversity in our surgeons will help decrease some
of the inequalities you see in health care and treatment of
patients today.
Deborah Balzer: Can you tell us more about what is Nth
Dimensions? Can you explain what it is?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: So, Nth Dimensions is an organization
that was founded by orthopedic surgeons with a goal of
eliminating healthcare disparities for all communities.
The program was initially founded in the field of
orthopedics but has now expanded to other fields such as
dermatology. And so, one of the major programs is a summer
internship, which pairs underrepresented minorities,
with established orthopedic surgeons over a summer of
mentoring, research and professional development.
Deborah Balzer: What is its connection to Mayo Clinic
orthopedics? How does that work?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yeah, I guess you can say I was the
connection for the program at Mayo Clinic. As a former Nth
Dimensions scholar myself, I really remembered how beneficial
the program was and all the relationships I was able to
gain. And so therefore, I proposed that we implement it
here at Mayo Clinic when I started.
Deborah Balzer: I'd love to hear a little bit more about your
connections and your relationship. Tell me a little
bit more about that when you were part of that program at Nth
Dimensions. You had mentioned that you were the connection.
Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yeah, so the summer in between my first
year and my second year of medical school at Howard
University, I applied for the Nth Dimensions program as I was
interested in orthopedics. And so, I was paired with another
minority surgeon at Providence, and he really exposed me to
orthopedic surgery, I got to see surgeries. I was involved in
research projects, and I just developed a vast connection of
other surgeons who were all helping me obtain my goal of
becoming an orthopedic surgeon. And so, I thought that was
really beneficial and something that I really treasured as a
medical student.
Deborah Balzer: How does an effort like this program and
this internship fit into do you think Mayo Clinic's overall goal
for diversity, equity and inclusion?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yeah, so I think it fits in great as Mayo
has made a real commitment to increase diversity in the
institution. I mean, to my knowledge, I'm the first African
American orthopedic consultant at the institution. So, that in
itself is a huge step. And then also our diversity chair, Dr.
Barlow is a huge diversity advocate and has already made
great strides to increase diversity at the institution
before I arrived. And so, he was right on board with the idea of
Nth Dimensions and tried to push it through as quickly as
possible.
Deborah Balzer: You're an alumnus and now a mentor of this
Nth dimensions program. How does that experience as a participant
influence your role as a mentor? How does that feel? How does
that influence you?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Right, so I think I have the unique
experience to being on both sides of the coin. And so, now
I'm really able to give back and pass down all that knowledge and
guidance I was given in order to help others become successful.
Deborah Balzer: So, speaking of others, let's talk about what
your mentees will be doing. So, they'll be here for eight weeks,
what will they get to see and do here? What will their experience
be like?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: So, our mentees will get a great
exposure to all aspects of orthopedics here. They'll gain
clinical knowledge by being able to see patients in the clinic.
They'll gain operative experience by being able to
shadow surgeries. They'll gain research experience as they'll
be the lead on a research paper, as well as other educational
opportunities through conferences and clinical labs.
Deborah Balzer: What do you hope your mentees will take away from
this experience doctor?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: So ultimately, I think we hope that
this experience will reinforce our mentees' desires to become
orthopedic surgeons. We also hope that they'll gain valuable
knowledge and connections here while ultimately building their
CV to become more competitive.
Deborah Balzer: Where would you like to see this program go
next? I mean, if you were among the first here at Mayo Clinic,
where would you like to see this grow, this program?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yeah, so I think we want this program to
grow. And the fact that we start taking more Nth Dimensions
scholars each year, and our overall goal is to increase
diversity in institutions. So, what that looks like is
recruiting more residents, and then ultimately recruiting more
staff. And so, we kind of mimic our population as a whole.
Deborah Balzer: What would you recommend doctor, to people who
are struggling to get an education due to diversity
barriers? So, what would you recommend to those?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yes, it's tough, and it can be difficult.
But I recommend never giving up. You know, we know as minorities,
the path to becoming a physician is more difficult. And hopefully
that changes here in the near future. But as the saying goes,
where there's a will there's a way. And so, I think you have
to find different methods to obtain the goals and seek out
people who may have been in similar situations as you are
and who are willing to help.
Deborah Balzer: Doctor, thank you for taking time.
Congratulations to you. Looking forward to hearing about how
your mentees do. Good luck on the program. And please won't
you tell us your name and what you do here at Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: So, my name is Kelechi Okoroha, I'm a new
orthopedic sports medicine consultant at the Mayo Clinic. I
specialize in all sports medicine surgeries, hip
arthroscopy, and shoulder arthroplasty. And I'm also one
of the team physicians for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Deborah Balzer: And what facility? Are you at the Mayo
Clinic downtown Minnesota facility doctor?
Dr. Kelechi Okoroha: Yes. So, I see patients at Mayo Clinic
Square in Minneapolis, but I also operate in Rochester.
Deborah Balzer: Very good. Thank you, doctor for taking
time from your busy day to talk with us about diversity and
inclusion in the program of Nth Dimensions. Good luck to you,
and thanks so much for your time today. Our thanks to Mayo Clinic
orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kelechi Okoroha. Thanks for joining us.
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