Robust and effective mentorship is imperative to building a successful career in academic medicine.
A mentor can help shape and define the trajectory of one’s career, yet it is well known that historically underrepresented groups have great difficulties in finding mentorship and sponsorship in academic medicine.
Women, in general, remain underrepresented in academic medicine, accounting for only 39% of full-time faculty positions and 22% of full-time professors.1 The gap is wider for minority women physicians who frequently are the “only one,” at their institutions. Underrepresented in medicine (UIM) physicians frequently have isolating journeys due to lack of representation, discrimination, gender inequities, and lack of mentorship.
A study presented at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting revealed that more than half (53%) of leadership positions in all ACGME accredited Hematology-Oncology and Radiation Oncology training programs were comprised by white males, whereas UIM women physicians had the lowest representation at only 2.9%.2
Lack of representation can further increase the marginalization of minoritized groups, widen inequities within health care, propagate biases from patients, superiors and colleagues, and drive isolation among those who are already isolated by virtue of their sex and race/ethnicity.
This was true for Dr. Narjust Duma, who is originally from Venezuela, and completed medical school in the Dominican Republic. She moved to the United States to pursue residency training.
Dr. Duma narrated her journey during the ASCO voices session at the annual meeting, detailing feelings of isolation and discrimination she encountered during residency leading to depression and self-deprecation (The Cancer Letter, June 11, 2021).
Because of her Latinx background, she described attempting to minimize her true self to fit in. Dr. Duma later realized the value of being her true, authentic self, and through the act of mentorship, used her personal journey of acceptance to build on the experiences of upcoming trainees.
She co-founded a community in social media for #LatinasinMedicine to empower and connect other physicians and trainees.3 Witnessing the impact her mentorship had on rising students and trainees led her to create Duma Lab, a research group composed of professionals from different backgrounds and stages of the medical career that focuses on lung cancer research and social justice.
For many members and UIM trainees, the #DumaLab provided a safe space and sense of community. Personal stories from members of the Duma Lab follow.
By sharing these personal stories, we strive to highlight the life-altering impact that role models, mentors, and sponsors can have in creating an inclusive and supportive environment that positively shape trainees’ career paths. We hope Dr. Duma’s story inspires you to promote and create environments where we all can feel like we belong.
Voices from the #DumaLab
Coral Olazagasti
“Coral, I don’t understand, when you speak Spanish you are so outspoken and confident,” my husband told me after the 50th time I expressed to him that I felt like a lonely planet at work, one that didn’t fit in with the rest.
Despite being my husband, it’s hard to express to a white man how I, as a Latina physician, feel within this field. I’d considered myself an extroverted, confident, and outspoken person my whole life. Little did I know that choosing to move to the United States would make me question the traits I had loved about myself up until that point.
Insecurities quickly arose, as I experienced frequent comments about my heavy accent, occasional mispronunciations, fashion choices, and lively personality. The stereotype threat led me to dim my light in an effort to become the standard, “normal.”
Luckily, at a pivotal time during my fellowship training, I was introduced to Dr. Duma. Learning her story quickly led me to a journey of self-acceptance. Why would I want to be “normal” when I could be my own lively, passionate, and positive self?
Through her, I learned to use the stereotypes and biases as motivation to amplify the voices of other underrepresented minorities that are victimized by a broken society.
Dr. Duma’s story reminds us that we, minorities, bring important value to this country and this field. With the Duma Lab, Dr. Duma gathered together a group of people that not only share similar personal experiences, but a passion for social justice.
The caliber of the lab speaks volumes of the type of leader Dr. Duma is, and I am forever grateful to be a part of it. Dr. Duma inspires me to lead by example to the younger generation and to be proud of my journey and accomplishments.
Carolina Bernabe
As my last year of fellowship was approaching, anxiety started to invade me. I knew that my future job would be challenging. I would be an oncologist in the Bronx, caring for minority patients who have cancer.
I feared I would not find mentors or role models to rely on and encourage me to become my true self. I shared my feelings with another Latinx faculty physician in my fellowship, who introduced me to Dr. Narjust Duma.
“She is a rising star,” she told me. I started reading about Dr. Duma’s many accomplishments, and she was right. As a trainee, Dr. Duma had won Resident of the Year Award from the National Hispanic Medical Association, the Mayo Brothers Distinguished Fellowship Award, and she had been the chief-fellow of a prestigious hematology-oncology program. I was so honored to meet her.
ASCO 2019 was around the corner, and after exchanging some emails, we finally met in Chicago. She was so charismatic, and I still remember the feeling. I was so thrilled to meet a Latinx woman leader.
Dr. Duma believes passionately in advocating for women. She supports and motivates all her mentees to become better every day. She has served as a role-model and friend to all of us, and I’m forever grateful and honored to be one of them.
Shruti Patel
Six months into my intern year, I met Dr. Narjust Duma.
Six months of keeping my head down, wearing dull colors, and squashing all parts of my individuality. Six months of telling myself that doctors are supposed to be professional.
In medicine, the idea of professionalism is defined by behaviors adjacent to a mild-mannered, white, cis-presenting, heterosexual, abled male.
Why would I want to be ‘normal’ when I could be my own lively, passionate, and positive self?
Coral Olazagasti
I will never know how she knew I needed to hear the words she said next, “Remember to be yourself. I will support you.” It was her words and constant support and encouragement that allowed me to thrive and flourish in residency.
Dr. Narjust Duma is the kind of mentor the world has never seen. She uses her intelligence, creativity, and tenacity to ensure her mentees have every opportunity to succeed. She is a vital asset to trainees in medicine, specifically UIMs, modeling how one can be elevated to the highest levels of academia while lifting up everyone around her.
In just a few years as an attending physician, she has made a mark on the care of women with lung cancer, while identifying sources of bias within medicine and creating ways to change these biases.
Idalid “Ivy” Franco
As a UIM within the field of radiation oncology, I have struggled to find mentors. I recall seeing Dr. Duma’s abstract at the ASCO annual meeting in 2019, regarding the introduction of women speakers at national conferences, and thinking “she would be the perfect mentor” (The Cancer Letter, Dec. 19, 2019).
After an extensive Google search, I found her email and sent her a short paragraph describing myself and my research interests within oncology. Her response blew me away. She responded that same day and scheduled a phone meeting for the following week. From that moment on I knew I had made a connection for life.
I confided in Dr. Duma the feelings of isolation and inadequacy that I felt as the only Latina within my residency. I spoke about the desire to fit in and the daily reminders that this space was not created for someone like me. She listened intently, creating an environment where I felt safe to process my thoughts without fear of judgment.
She showed with her actions the concern she had with my personal development and reminded me of the unique value I brought to the field of radiation oncology, and medicine as a whole. She connected with me in a way I had yet to experience and reminded me that this is where I belonged. Dr. Duma created opportunities for me to interact with other professional women.
She organized multiple events where medical students, residents, and faculty could come together, a community now known as the “Duma Lab.”
She showed me it was possible to be my authentic self, while providing exceptional patient care and conducting research that addressed the systemic inequities leading to cancer health disparities.
Even as a young faculty mentor, she has used her position of privilege and her own experiences with bias and racism to serve as a catalyst for advancing the career trajectory of UIM trainees. She allowed me not only to believe in myself, but to harness my full potential to serve patients and younger generations of physicians struggling to find their way within medicine.
Dame Idossa
Dr. Duma and I met when I was a resident and she was a fellow at the Mayo Clinic.
I am a first-generation college graduate and the first physician in my family. I was an intern, overwhelmed with the clinical demands on my new role and had no guidance on how to navigate academic medicine and build a successful career. I reached out to Dr. Duma for guidance and to collaborate on projects.
From the very first meeting we had inside the Plummer Library, Dr. Duma always listened. She learned about my goals and helped find mentors and projects which would align with them.
Even though she was a trainee herself at that time, she sponsored me when there were projects or opportunities that were in line with my research interests.
Now as an assistant professor, she helps me dream bigger, gently suggesting I consider an oral presentation rather than a poster or submitting to one journal over another. When I struggle with imposter syndrome, she finds ways to build my confidence and always affirms that I belong.
She has been one of my fiercest advocates and remains as such to this day. The impact of having someone who looks like me—a woman, an immigrant, an underrepresented minority—thriving in academic medicine, is hard to put into words.
Seeing Dr. Duma’s success while being true to her authentic self, encourages me to bring my authentic self to my professional life. It exemplifies that there is room for all of us in academic medicine.
Ana I. Velázquez Mañana
“Ana Velázquez Ma…” my second-grade teacher said while passing attendance on our first day of class. “Mañana!” all the other kids shouted, “she’s coming tomorrow?” the teacher replied, as the classroom laughed and responded, “no, she is here today.”
Despite growing up in Puerto Rico, I was very familiar with the sense of not fitting in. I was the girl with the odd last name, who used rare sayings taught by her Galician mother, and who was “too opinionated.”
Since middle school, my math teacher told me to filter my voice because “trouble makers” don’t have the same career and educational opportunities. Moving to the mainland U.S. to pursue residency and fellowship only amplified the sense of not fitting in.
Latina stereotypes became apparent to me, and I had to filter and change things as simple as greeting friends, because hugging or giving a kiss on the cheek was not culturally acceptable.
The impact of having someone who looks like me—a woman, an immigrant, an underrepresented minority—thriving in academic medicine, is hard to put into words.
Dame Idossa
I met Dr. Duma through Twitter and reached out to meet at the ASCO 2019 annual meeting. As I walked down a hallway in McCormick Place to meet her for the first time, she immediately greeted me with a huge hug. At that moment, I knew I had found my tribe.
Since then, Dr. Duma has been an outstanding mentor, sponsor, and supportive friend. Through challenging experiences, she has always been present, actively listening, normalizing feelings of isolation, and empowering me to unfilter my voice and become an agent of change.
Dr. Duma has helped me find and explore my potential, develop my research portfolio and a network of collaborators while remaining authentic to my true self. I am deeply inspired by her passion and dedication to mentoring and sponsoring trainees, especially those underrepresented in medicine, and I hope I can pay it forward to the next generation.
References:
- Herzke, C., et al. (2020) Gender Issues in Academic Hospital Medicine: a National Survey of Hospitalist Leaders. Journal of General Internal Medicine. doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05527-0
- Gavin Jones, Natasha Dhawan, Akansha Chowdhary, Trevor Joseph Royce, Kirtesh R. Patel, Arpit Chhabra, Miriam Knoll, Curtiland Deville, Karen Marie Winkfield, Neha Vapiwala, Narjust Duma, and Mudit Chowdhary. Gender and racial/ethnic disparities in academic oncology leadership.Journal of Clinical Oncology 2021 39:15_suppl, 11009-11009
- Christophers, Duma N, Mora Pinzon M. #LatinasInMedicine:Using the Hashtag to Build Community in Medicine. J Grad Med Educ (2021) 13 (3): 332–334. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-20-01396.1
