Jamil Joyner
A Mental Medical Miracle
Jamil Joyner is a Georgia native born and raised in the metro Atlanta. The youngest of three brothers, the grandson of a sharecropper, a second-generation Morehouse Man (following in the footsteps of his father and brother), and the first physician in his family, Jamil can show how he is the representation needed to inspire other Black males to consider a future in medicine. Not often do Black males see a doctor of the same gender and race, but also in their studies.
After completing his degree in biology at Morehouse College, Jamil next turned his attention to medical school at the Morehouse School of Medicine, an institution he was convinced would make him a better person, student, and physician. There he excelled academically and in extracurriculars serving as a Student Ambassador and president of the Student Government Association (SGA). As such, his goal was not only to be the face of the student body but also to apply his business degree experience to help transform the SGA to accommodate the complex learning and other needs of a large student body at MSM.
Pursuing a residency at Morehouse School of Medicine, Jamil's journey will guide him to be an Internal Medicine Physician (Internist), aiming to serve as an Administrator and Executive in the healthcare industry. Morehouse School of Medicine is a historically Black medical school whose vision is to lead the creation and advancement of health equity. MSM educates future leaders of the health workplace, medical fields, and community outreach. These students and future leaders will be the diverse change makers that Georgia needs, but what is needed worldwide. As MSM trains future doctors and leaders in healthcare, they are also active in local Atlanta communities and school systems by gearing more students of color towards STEM.
“Building stronger partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) was noted as pivotal to any strategy, since HBCUs are among the most active feeder institutions to medical schools" ((AAMC), Altering the Course: Black Males in Medicine 2015).
A small percentage of African American men pursuing a career and focusing on the medical field can trace back to early in their academic careers.
Along with amplifying student voices at MSM, Jamil's student servant leadership also encompassed serving on the institution's LCME Steering Committee and as a Trustee on the institution's Trustee Board. Well-recognized for his many accomplishments, Jamil has been featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). He has been invited to speak and represent MSM at events like the White House conversation with Historically Black Colleges and Universities student journalists (White House for HBCUs).
In addition, Jamil had the opportunity to sit on a recent panel with Senator Bernie Sanders in his Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Field Roundtable at MSM. Lending an eloquent voice to the importance of HBCUs and how they produce future Black leaders in all fields, Jamil underscored that the key to producing more Black providers comes down to more resources, which would have positive downstream effects — starting with increasing class sizes.
“I greatly admire Senator Sanders and his commitment to Universal Healthcare. It is an honor that he chose Morehouse School of Medicine as the first field site for the Senate HELP Committee. I think our HBCU Medical School Leaders represented the needs of our institutions very well and made a clear ask to bring us back to parity with our previous standing and how to elevate our institutions. Dr. Cooke, IM PGY-2, made a great impassioned case for the proper treatment of our Graduate Medical Education learners. I believe in Universal programs, but as discussed at the roundtable, Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans have ALWAYS been historically cheated out of universal American promises, starting with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and extending to GI Bill discrimination and redlining. We must acknowledge not only do our institutions deserve more funding being of historical inequalities but that we are responsible for a disproportionate amount of Black healthcare provided education and that to solve the shortage of these physicians any solution chosen must disproportionately benefit HBCU medical schools.”
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SENATE HELP COMMITTEE ROUNDTABLE
Not only is Jamil making a difference at MSM but in the state of Georgia as well. Research indicates that students often don't take the STEM route in their early education, which limits high-value STEM opportunities later in their education and severely interferes with the pathway to medical school by traditional means. According to the AJC, "The reasons for the small percentage of African American men going to medical school and becoming doctors often begins early in life."
In the same article, President, and CEO of MSM, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, is referenced, stating, "Rice is raising awareness about the need and importance of African American male doctors and is helping develop a local pipeline program to bring men into the profession. MSM is working in the Atlanta Public Schools system to steer more black students toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)" (Stirgus & Suggs, Trend of fewer black male doctors has broader public health impact, 2018).
As a role model to younger and older generations, especially Black males, Jamil can inspire Black males to seek care more often and be the representation they need for change. Jamil is a mental medical miracle. He is making an IMpact by furnishing a Black male's mental freedom and comfort to look at someone who reflects themselves. Jamil offers the knowledge and insight on how to bring awareness towards providing more students of color an opportunity to seek education without the burden of the financial cost being so high.
Another contribution to the lack of Black male students seeking higher education is the debt students endear when entering medical institutions. According to "Altering the Course: Black Males in Medicine" by the AAMC, "In a study of high school juniors, Rao and Flores (2007) found that perceived barriers to pursuing medicine as a career included limited knowledge about the career pathway, poor access to African American role models, finances, and attractiveness of other careers that were less educationally intensive" (AAMC), Altering the Course: Black Males in Medicine 2015).
In this regard, Jamil has spoken passionately about the financial burden incurred by medical students, particularly black medical students, who have the highest medical school debt among their racial and ethnic counterparts. However, Jamil brings awareness to the subject. He expresses gratitude for the scholarships he received to attend medical school, their impact, and how they can impact other students.
Jamil's story shows that he had the representation from his upbringing of seeing a doctor and his family, so he still pushes forward to achieve his goals. Finding an institution such as MSM was vital to his journey in being able to be the representation of solid leadership and Black male doctors. These are critical features that make him a mental medical miracle. Not only will he be the reflection that someone needs to see in the doctor's office, but he will be more than just a statistic showing how Black males train to treat and provide care for other Black males in their communities, states, and soon nationwide.
“‘The reality today is people often feel more comfortable if the physician is like them,’ Dr. Sullivan said. ‘We see that among women. Many women prefer a female physician. In the same way, if someone is African American, they might feel more comfortable with an African American physician’” (Galvin, Does your doctor's race matter? It might for Black Men 2019).
As a Morehouse School of Medicine graduate, Jamil understands the institution's mission, vision, and values of being a part of the representation needed in these underserved populations and within the black community, a part of being a part of something greater than himself. Jamil intends to instill these values into his practices.
Role model, servant leader, and exemplar, as he grows in his residency and future practice, as he helps increase the number of black physicians in the nation, and applies this unique brand of compassion, humanism, and business acumen, Jamil Joyner will continue to be an inspiration to us all.
Jamil is a mental medical miracle.
