Dr. Ryan Tsuchida, assistant professor of emergency medicine, has been selected to participate in the Building Equitable Access to Mentorship (BEAM) initiative at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health (UW SMPH). This program matches faculty and first-year students for an academic year-long program designed to enhance the medical school experience for individuals of color and other marginalized identities.
BEAM is an evidence-based mentoring program that leverages the experience and expertise of faculty members to provide mentorship to medical students from racial/ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine (URiM) so that they may acquire relevant social and cultural capital to maximize experiences and resources at UW SMPH and to enhance their professional development and academic success.
“BEAM was created to connect trained faculty mentors with individuals from groups historically underrepresented in medicine. Our primary goal is to support talent development in these M1 students by building self-efficacy for degree completion and cultural navigation skills,” said Angela Byars-Winston, PhD, tenured professor in the UW Department of Medicine and founding BEAM Program co-leader.
As part of the BEAM Program, faculty mentors benefit from competency-based education and resources and a learning community offering faculty development aimed at increasing mentoring skills. They participate in extensive evidence-based, mentorship education workshops by colleagues within the UW SMPH who are national and international experts. The workshops explore multiple mentoring models, tools to improve mentoring, and culturally aware mentoring practices.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to mentor students who come from underrepresented minorities in medicine through the BEAM program,” says Dr. Tsuchida. “I’m humbled with the task of providing guidance to our next generation of physicians and ensuring a bright future for our diverse workforce.”
The BEAM Program also provides opportunities for faculty mentors to support UW SMPH diversity initiatives through involvement in activities that sustain URiM students in the School’s training programs. BEAM is part of the UW SMPH’s Building Community mission, which aims to create a community where all learners, staff and faculty feel valued, included and empowered.
About Dr. Ryan Tsuchida
Dr. Tsuchida completed his medical degree at the University of Michigan Medical School, and his emergency medicine residency/chief residency at the University of Michigan. There, he developed diversity, equity and inclusion curriculums within his residency and the University of Michigan graduate medical education at large.
Dr. Tsuchida was the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Arno Kumagai Award for Excellence in Institutional Change to Promote Health Equity, Social Justice and Compassionate Care awarded by the University of Michigan Student Diversity Council. He was also the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Future Academician Award, Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM)—an academy of the Society for Academic Medicine (SAEM)—and currently chairs the ADIEM Membership Committee.
Dr. Tsuchida also serves as chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee within the BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, where he is the editor of a quarterly newsletter that highlights departmental initiatives and events and provides discussion and education on DEI topics.