Structural Equity

Urology Mentorship Program

UCLA Urology has championed the Ifeanyi Onyeji Urology Mentorship Program, a longitudinal research and mentorship endeavor undertaken by the five University of California Urology programs to provide mentorship and opportunities for underrepresented medical students from across the country who do not have home urology programs. Each UC Urology Department now annually selects 2 medical students to spend the summer at UCLA - fully funded - conducting a research project under the direct supervision of one of our faculty. 

Working to Improve Representation of Black Urologists

Underrepresented Resident Mentorship Program

The percentage of urology residents who are Black/African American is under 4%, and those numbers suffer from significant attrition. Dr. Kymora Scotland, UCLA Urology assistant professor, has decided to tackle this problem by developing a nationwide mentorship program for Black residents by Black urologists, in her capacity as director of resident outreach at the R. Frank Jones Urological Society. The initiative is being conducted in partnership with the R. Frank Jones Urological Society and with the support of UCLA Urology. 

But the low number of Black residents requires efforts at the medical school level as well, in an attempt to increase the number of students applying to and matching in urology. To that end, Dr. Scotland has been working with Urology Unbound, a recently formed organization dedicated to recruiting and retaining Black urologists, under the leadership of Dr. Shenelle Wilson. Dr. Wilson has been working tirelessly through Urology Unbound and the R. Frank Jones Urology Interest Group to engage with urology applicants who are underrepresented in medicine (URM) to prepare them for the recently concluded match. Of the 39 URM students mentored by Urology Unbound, 31 matched into a urology program. “Urology Unbound and the R. Frank Jones Urological Society will continue to expand initiatives aimed at improving the representation of Black urologists,” Dr. Scotland says. 

UCLA Urologic Men’s Health Fellowship for Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) 

Based on research by former fellow Dr. Denise Asafu-Adjei indicating that there is an unmet need for men’s health services in medically underrepresented areas, Dr. Stanley Frencher and Dr. Jesse Mills established a men’s health primary care fellowship for physicians who come from traditionally underrepresented in medicine backgrounds. The one-year fellowship will allow the fellow to practice primary care with a focus on men’s urologic health. The intent of the program is to populate underserved communities with men’s health specialists and to open access to care to more diverse communities. For more information >