Association of American Indian
Physicians
Margaret Knight and Dr. Everett
Rhoades
Founded in 1971
by Dr. Everett Rhoades, Kiowa, and 13 other American Indian
physicians, the Association of American Indian Physicians
(AAIP) has accomplished a great deal in its mission to
“pursue excellence in Native American health care by
promoting education in the medical disciplines, honoring
traditional healing practices, and restoring the balance of
mind, body and spirit.” Margaret Knight, a member of the
Pueblo of Laguna, is the Executive Director of AAIP.
Although AAIP conducts a variety of health-related
programs, here we focus on the programs and activities that
are designed for students who want to pursue careers in the
health professions.
Health
Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP)
Each year, in
conjunction with the annual AAIP meeting, there is a
two-day long
Pre-Admission Workshop designed to
help students prepare to apply to medical school and other
schools in the health professions. In the workshops,
American Indian and Alaska Native medical students “role
models” share their stories about applying for and being in
medical school and talk about their future plans. Native
physicians also share their stories. Typically, by the end
of the workshops, participants have completed their
applications. Participants also engage in individualized
mock interviews that simulate the situations they’ll face
when they are interviewed as part of the real application
process.
In the
Mentoring Program, high school
students, undergraduates, graduates and medical students
are paired with AAIP members and other health care
professions who mentor them via mail, phone, email, and/or
in person.
In the
Student Live-in/Shadowing Program, students spend
4 to 7 days living with and shadowing American Indian
health professional role models who give students a glimpse
of their everyday work and life. Many of these role models
are AAIP member physicians who work and live in American
Indian communities, tribes, and urban settings.
Association
of Native American Medical Students (ANAMS)
ANAMS is a
student organization representing American Indian graduate
health professions students throughout the U.S. and Canada.
ANAMS meets each summer in conjunction with the AAIP annual
meeting. ANAMS members have opportunities to mentor
undergraduate students during the AAIP Pre-Admissions
Workshop. They can also serve as counselors for the
National Native American Youth Initiative Program.
ANAMS members are also welcome at AAIP’s annual Cross
Cultural Medicine Workshop that provides participants with
a greater understanding of Western and Traditional medicine
and the links between the two.
National Native American Youth Initiative
(NNAYI)
Each summer
AAIP selects 60 American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN)
high school students, age 16 to 18, who are given
scholarships to attend a weeklong, intensive academic
enrichment program in Washington DC. Students attend
lectures and participate in workshops and field trips.
Sessions on such topics as study and test taking skills and
leadership and communication skills, help students prepare
for admission to college and careers in the health
professions and/or biomedical research. AAIP mentors
discuss health care issues affecting AI/AN communities and
offer insights into their respective health fields.
For more information, see the AAIP website.
Also see the profile of Dr. Everett Rhoades
in which he
talks about the early history of the AAIP.
Parts
of this article were originally published in the Winter
2006 issue of
Winds of Change. (The cover
artist is Dewayne "Fishinghawk" Mathews, Cherokee.)