The Importance of Mentorship in Medicine: Why Diverse Mentorship Matters

Michelle Y. Owens, MD, MS, FACOG, is a maternal–fetal medicine (MFM) specialist in Jackson, Mississippi. Dr. Owens completed her residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital and her MFM fellowship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Owens went on to serve at the University of Mississippi Medical Center as a tenured professor, interim chair, chief of the MFM division, and program director of the MFM fellowship. She is now clinical professor of maternal and fetal medicine at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital and the assistant secretary of ACOG’s Board of Directors. Dr. Owens serves on the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure and was a member of the Mississippi Board of Nursing until becoming president of the Board of Medical Licensure in 2023. She is the clinical director for Mae Health and clinical chair of the Mississippi Maternal Mortality Review Committee. Her research and clinical interests are in hypertensive and substance use disorders in pregnancy, maternal and infant mortality, sickle cell disease, and health disparities. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters. Dr. Owens is a passionate advocate for women’s health and health equity both locally and nationally. 

Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, MD, MPH, FACOG, is the inaugural vice president and chief health equity officer for Indiana University Health and the associate dean for health equity research for Indiana University School of Medicine, where she holds an endowed chair for health equity research. Dr. Tucker Edmonds is also a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and clinical pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, with training in general obstetrics and gynecology, health services research, public health, and clinical ethics. She studies health equity and shared decision-making in reproductive health care and is interested in understanding the impact of racism, classism, and culture on patient preferences and risk perceptions; physician decision-making and counseling; and, ultimately, variations in treatment provision and service delivery. 

Dr. Tucker Edmonds received a bachelor’s degree in community health and African American studies from Brown University. She received her medical degree from Brown Medical School, and, concurrently, completed a master’s in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Tucker Edmonds trained in obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University Medical Center, then entered the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received health services research training and a master’s degree in health policy research.

Omar M. Young, MD, FACOG, is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, where he serves as the vice chair of education and the associate residency program director. Dr. Young completed his medical training at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Yale New Haven Hospital. Subsequently, he completed his fellowship in maternal–fetal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, where he also garnered certificate-level graduate training in education. He is a clinical educator who is grounded in providing significant and impactful educational experiences.  

His clinical focus includes prepregnancy maternal care and cardio-obstetrics. His educational scholarship focuses on anti-racism in medical education and improving the clinical environment for all learners. He is the cofounder of the podcast BroDocTalk on YouTube, in which he provides underrepresented minorities in medicine a means by which to garner insight into the recruitment and retention process for getting into medical school, matching into residency, and promoting faculty development. 

Arthurine K. Zakama, MD, is a third-year maternal–fetal medicine fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and the founder of the A to Z Medical Excellence Scholarship. As the first doctor in her family, she was fortunate to meet mentors who created opportunities for her to explore medicine. Her mentors have been an unwavering support throughout her medical career. Because of these transformative relationships, she is dedicated to mentorship and ensuring that students from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds who are interested in medicine have access to make their dreams of becoming doctors a reality.

Dr. Zakama completed her undergraduate education at Vanderbilt University; her medical degree at Duke University; and her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of California, San Francisco. She is passionate about serving underserved populations locally and globally, perinatal mental health, and health equity through the lens of reproductive justice.