Learning from Hispanic Mentees: A Reflection on Cultural and Socioeconomic Differences

Abstract

Oakland University William Beaumont - Hispanic Newcomer Outreach mentoring program offers medical students the opportunity to mentor local Hispanic teenagers. Here, we describe the experience of two medical students in the program with their mentees. Through the weekly phone calls and weekend activities, their relationships strengthened and the mentors learned invaluable lessons about the effects of socioeconomic status, gender roles, and culture that could not be learned from a classroom. This program helped shape their ever-evolving cultural humility, which highlights the importance of long-term, meaningful experiences with people from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds in medical education.

Keywords

• Mentoring
• Cultural Humility
• COVID-19
• Gender Roles
• Socioeconomic disparities