Gary H. Gibbons, MD, is director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He is an alumnus of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program. This is part of a series of posts looking at diversity in the health care workforce.

Growing up in a predominantly African American neighborhood in Philadelphia, high blood pressure, strokes, and heart attacks were common. When I got to medical school, I asked one of my professors why the African American community tended to have a higher prevalence of these medical conditions. He introduced me to biomedical science for the first time and challenged me to pursue that question on my own. I've continued to look for the answer to that provocative question ever since.

Similar to that early experience, mentorship has been a determining factor in my career trajectory. I might not have pursued a research career at all if it hadn't been for Harvard Medical School professor A. Clifford Barger who inspired me to ask and answer difficult research questions. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Harold Amos Program pushed me further with their emphasis on mentorship, which gave me a sense of community with the many scholars interested in the same research problems. It was my experience with a National Institutes of Health T32 training grant when I was starting out as an investigator that inspired me to give back to a younger set of minority researchers by becoming a K Award mentor and leading a T32 program at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Felix German Contreras, 22, of Atlantic City, N.J., credits his 2012 participation in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP), and his teachers at the Yale University site, for opening new doors to opportunities. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Contreras emigrated to the U.S. with his family at age 6. He will graduate from Atlantic Cape Community College next year and plans to attend Yale School of Medicine. Started in 1988, more than 21,000 alumni have completed SMDEP, which today sponsors 12 university sites with each accepting up to 80 students per summer session. This is part of a series of posts looking at diversity in the health care workforce.

Living as an immigrant and student with only part-time employment is a daily battle. But I will never allow these challenges to slay my dreams. With so many struggles, I am often asked: “Felix, how do you do it?”

I cannot help but smile when I reply, as it is not a secret; nor do I believe it is a talent—it is simply a strong work ethic. I have realized the best things in life are the hardest to obtain.

My doors to new unexpected opportunities were opened when a late-night online search in 2012 led me to the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program. I applied and was accepted at the six-week program’s Yale University site. It was there where I met mentors and students with similar aspirations to improve communities through medicine. Not only did the intensive program place me on a sure-footed path toward a health sciences career, my English improved tremendously through rigorous reading and writing. You can’t believe how much six weeks can give someone who is eager to receive. SMDEP exposed me to countless possibilities on the other side.

This is part of the May 2013 issue of Sharing Nursing's Knowledge.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has called on nurses to take on more leadership positions so they can use their unique insights to help redesign the nation’s ailing health care system.

But some nurses are already there.

In its biennial list of the 25 most powerful women in the health care industry, Modern Healthcare, a leading health policy journal, included nine women with nursing backgrounds and two others who are vocal champions of nurses and nursing.

Nurses and nursing champions, in other words, comprised nearly half the list, which was released in April.

The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows, grantees and alumni.

The Chicago Parenting Program, an innovative program that supports healthy parenting and reduces behavioral problems among children, was recently added to the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. RWJF Executive Nurse Fellow alumna Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, FAAN, was a driving force behind the program, which is used by Head Start centers in Chicago and New York City, among others.  RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar Susan Breitenstein, PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, and Executive Nurse Fellow alumna Sharon Tucker, PhD, RN, joined with Gross and others to conduct a study on the program, published in Research in Nursing & Health. It was recently named the journal’s Best Research Article award for 2012.

David Kindig, MD, PhD, RWJF Health & Society Scholars program director at the University of Wisconsin, and Health & Society Scholars program National Advisory Committee (NAC) member George Isham, MD, MS, co-chaired the Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Population Health Improvement, which is exploring factors beyond medical care that affect people's health. Among other participants in the Roundtable: RWJF Senior Program Officer Pamela Russo, MD, MPH, and Health & Society Scholars NAC Member James Knickman, PhD.

RWJF Health Policy Fellows alumna Carmen R. Green, MD, was appointed the University of Michigan Health System’s inaugural Associate Vice President and Associate Dean for Health Equity and Inclusion. In the position, Green will find and address inequalities in care, education and research, and promote health care careers to those from groups that are underrepresented in the field.

Sylvia Garcia, JD, a member of the RWJF Community Health Leaders program NAC, was elected to the Texas State Senate (District 6) in a run-off election to fill the seat previously held by the late state Sen. Mario Gallegos.

The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees.

Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD, a member of the RWJF Health & Society Scholars program National Advisory Committee, was elected to the National Academy of Education.

RWJF Clinical Scholars alumnus David J. Shulkin, MD, has been named chair of the board of the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals. Shulkin is president of Morristown Medical Center and vice president of Atlantic Health System.

Flavia Peréa, PhD, an alumna of the RWJF New Connections program, was recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as a “2013 Emerging Scholar.”

Health & Society Scholars alumna Janxin Leu, PhD, joined HopeLab as Director of Product Innovation, where she will direct the Lab’s “new initiative to promote human resilience and inner values through social-tech innovation.”

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has approved the UNC School of Nursing’s proposal to add the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree to its graduate clinical offerings. Two RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows alumnae were instrumental in ensuring the proposal’s approval: School of Nursing Dean Kristen M. Swanson, PhD, RN, FAAN, and newly-appointed DNP program director Debra J. Barksdale, PhD, RN, CFNP, CANP.

Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor, chair of Biomedical Informatics, and a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has joined the RWJF Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program National Advisory Committee.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) provides grants for people and projects in the United States and U.S. territories that advance the Foundation’s mission to improve the health and health care of all Americans. The following are the current funding opportunities from RWJF’s Human Capital portfolio:

RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars
The RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program is working to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards for outstanding junior nursing faculty. The program aims to strengthen the academic productivity and overall excellence of nursing schools by providing mentorship, leadership training, and salary and research support to young faculty. Applicants must be registered nurses who have achieved high levels of education and nursing research, and must be in an academic position that could lead to tenure for at least two years and no more than five years at the start of the program. Up to 12 awards will be given. The deadline is February 12, 2013. Learn more.

RWJF Clinical Scholars
The RWJF Clinical Scholars program, a collaboration of RWJF and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, seeks to foster the development of physicians who will lead the transformation of Americans’ health and health care. These future leaders will conduct innovative research and work with communities, organizations, practitioners and policy-makers to address issues essential to the health and well-being of all Americans. Eligible applicants must be committed to a career in academic medicine, public health, health policy or another career congruent with the program’s purposes and priorities of developing physician leaders and skilled researchers; applicants must also have completed the clinical requirements of their residency training by the date of entry into the program. Up to 20 applicants will be selected in 2013 for an appointment beginning in summer 2014. The deadline is February 28, 2013. Learn more.

See all the current calls for proposals from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

This is part of a series introducing programs in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Human Capital Portfolio.

The Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program
is on the verge of a milestone: it will observe its 30th anniversary this year.  In 2012, the program achieved another notable distinction, as a third alumnus was selected to lead an institute at the National Institutes of Health: Gary Gibbons, MD, (’88) is now director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). He joined Griffin Rogers, MD, MACP, (’83) Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and Roderic Pettigrew, MD, PhD, (’83) Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

Formerly known as the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program, the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AFMDP) was created to increase the number of faculty from historically disadvantaged backgrounds who can achieve senior rank in academic medicine or dentistry, and who will encourage and foster the development of succeeding classes of such physicians and dentists. AFMDP offers four-year postdoctoral research awards to historically disadvantaged physicians and dentists who are committed to developing careers in academic medicine and to serving as role models for students and faculty of similar background.

The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) named 70 new members and 10 foreign associates at its 42nd annual meeting. Among the new members with RWJF connections: RWJF Clinical Scholars alumni Christopher J. Elias, MD, MPH, and Tracy A. Lieu, MD, MPH; RWJF Investigator Award in Health Policy Research recipients Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, Jens Ludwig, PhD, Jack Needleman, PhD, FAAN, and Sara Rosenbaum, JD; and RWJF Scholars in Health Policy Research alumnus Paula M. Lantz, PhD.

Sally S. Cohen, PhD, RN, FAAN, director of the RWJF Nursing and Health Policy Collaborative at the University of New Mexico (UNM), has been named to the UNM School of Nursing’s newly created Virginia P. Crenshaw Endowed Chair in Nursing—the School of Nursing's first endowed chair.

Anisha Patel, MD, MSPH, an alumnus of the Clinical Scholars program, was awarded the 2012 American Academy of Pediatrics Outstanding Achievement Award in the application of epidemiologic information to child health advocacy.

Robin Newhouse, an Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI) grantee, was appointed vice-chair of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s Methodology Committee.

This is part of a series introducing programs in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Human Capital Portfolio.

Raphael Travis, DrPH, knows the power of New Connections. For Travis, New Connections’ training events—such as symposiums and coaching clinics—were an important source for professional development in a welcoming atmosphere. He says, “I heard about the actual grants during the training workshop and knew I had to apply. The ambiance was inspiring, welcoming and needed. The combination of a supportive atmosphere and intellectual depth transcended what my home University offered. I was very excited to apply.”

Travis, a 2008 grantee, is an assistant professor at Texas State University- San Marcos. His New Connections project uses data collected in the 1997-2002 evaluation of Health Link, a program established to help reduce substance abuse among individuals returning to their New York City community after incarceration at Riker’s Island. The study explores: how positive youth development opportunities relate to recidivism; the relationships among mental health, substance use and recidivism across time points; and the potential cultural uniqueness between African-American and Latino youth.

Hector Rodriguez, PhD, MPH, knows the power of New Connections too. For Rodriguez, the program offered training and new research methods that powered his work. Rodriguez says, “New Connections is a fantastic opportunity for underrepresented junior faculty to pursue important public health and health care research, while being connected to a large network of prominent scholars.”

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Future of Nursing report recommends that nurses serve on boards and in other key leadership positions at every level, but getting a board appointment and taking on that responsibility can be daunting. In an article for American Nurse Today, RWJF Senior Adviser for Nursing Susan Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, offers advice for nurses looking to take the first steps toward board service.

Before considering board service, Hassmiller writes, consider creating a personal strategic plan and finding an organization outside your workplace with a mission and issues you support and understand. She suggests starting locally to find opportunities to serve in leadership positions, and building connections outside, as well as within, your profession.

“With activities taking place across the nation to make the IOM recommendations a reality, this may be one of the most exciting times in the history of nursing,” Hassmiller writes. “Make the effort to do the work required to prepare for leadership and to step onto the first rungs of community board service—and beyond.”

Read the article from American Nurse Today.