Dr. Patricia Téllez-Girόn prioritizes giving back to the community and that includes serving as a mentor for underrepresented medical students as part of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health BEAM Program.
Dr. Patricia Téllez-Girόn (center) with mentees Gabriella Geiger (right) and María Cecilia Abreu González (left).
Photo Credit: John Maniaci
BEAM stands for Building Equitable Access to Mentorship. It’s a unique program focused on culturally aware pairings of faculty members and medical students. Dr. Téllez-Girόn has served as a mentor for many students in her 20 years with the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, but the BEAM Program offers a special opportunity to build a supportive community of diverse faculty members and students. Her most recent BEAM learning pod—a group of two or three students working together— included SMPH medical students Gabriella Geiger and María Cecilia Abreu González.
“I’ve seen firsthand how minority students do not usually get the mentoring they need and do not feel comfortable sharing their stories or needs with people they feel might not understand what they are going through,” shared Téllez-Girόn in a recent article for Quarterly Magazine. “I am in a special position to be able to see where they are coming from, how to advise them, and how to create opportunities for them.”
The DFMCH Grand Rounds Forum on May 10, “Innovative Pathway Programs to Diversify and Strengthen Family Medicine,” will feature Téllez-Girόn along with Drs. Jillian Landeck and Yohualli Anaya discussing mentorship opportunities. All are welcome to attend the hour-long Webex conference.
For more information about the BEAM Program or to read the full article in Quarterly visit: https://www.med.wisc.edu/quarterly/volume-25-number-1/beam-equitable-access-to-mentorship/
Published: April 2023