ADA News

Boston—Dentistry is maintaining a strong presence in a nearly 20-year-old Harvard-based program that provides career enrichment and mentoring for academically outstanding students to pursue careers in the health sciences.

Volunteer: Dr. Cynthia Hodge (right), associate dean for community and outreach programs at the University of Connecticut Health Center, discusses career opportunities with students during a Biomedical Science Careers Student Conference.

The Biomedical Science Careers Program Inc. is designed to inform and support students from middle-school age to the postdoctoral level—particularly African American, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native students.

In addition to sharing information about programs in biomedical sciences and conducting career development workshops, the program highlights the need for mentors and advisors in making career decisions.

The program now has more than 6,900 student participants. A record number attended the 10th Biomedical Science Careers Student Conference Feb. 26-27, which gave students an opportunity to network with advisors and role models from the basic and clinical sciences, dentistry, medicine, public health, academic administration and the private sector. More than 1,100 fellows and students representing 262 institutions, 38 states, Puerto Rico and Mexico were in attendance, along with 250 advisors and speakers.

"This is a wonderful way to mentor students and give them insight that we all need to make better choices in our careers," said Dr. Brian Swann, a dentist, 2008 graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health and an enthusiastic volunteer advisor. "We talk to them about the application of science in the real world, information about what specific fields encompass and the amount of education involved.

"Several students I've mentored in the last two years contact me as they make career choices," he added. "They inform me about what's going on, ask questions and e-mail me when they're having a hard time. Sometimes they just need a little encouragement."

Mentor: Dr. Brian Swann talks about dental careers during the 10th Biomedical Science Careers Student Conference Feb. 27. Photo by Jeff Thiebauth Photography

Dr. Swann is in a unique position to dispense career advice. He was exposed to the possibilities of a career in dentistry as a young man, and 25 years into a successful practice, he abruptly changed course to begin a second career in health care policy.

"My mother was a dental assistant and an office manager," he said. "When I was in the office I saw the dentist as a man who owned his own business, he was independent, he was respected in the community, he was a scientist and an artist. I thought that was great."

At age 58, Dr. Swann sold his dental practices in California and moved to Boston to pursue a fellowship in public health at Harvard.

"My passion has always been public health. At least 20 percent of my practice was Medi-Cal patients. I also participated in school-based programs and often spoke to elementary and junior high students about oral health and the value of education. It got to the point where I didn't want to work for the business; I wanted to go public, become a public oral health provider and learn the language of public health. My colleagues in public health encouraged me to pursue a master's in public health."

Dr. Swann is now a faculty member at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, a clinical dentist at the Mattapan Community Health Center and chief of dental services for the Cambridge Health Alliance, the largest safety net hospital organization in the state of Massachusetts. He also co-directs the Harvard/CHA general practice residency program.

One thing future health practitioners can learn from his career trajectory is that "anything is possible," he said. His wide range of experience "challenges their perception of what it means to be a dentist. I tell kids to be creative—blend several careers even. I did private practice, public policy and public health at the same time, and you can do that, too."

"We hear from advisors all the time, 'I get so much more out of this than the students do,'" said Lise Kaye, Biomedical Science Careers Program executive director.

In the application for the biennial conference, students are asked to identify five- and 10-year goals, said Ms. Kaye. They are matched with an advisor based on their career choice. Conference workshops cover college and professional school application processes, funding sources, internships and networking. The New England Science Symposium followed on Feb. 28, which included oral and poster presentations.

Joan Y. Reede, M.D. Photo by Graham Ramsay

Two representatives from the ADA Student Ambassador Program attended the 2010 conference: Kari Cunningham, a senior dental student at Case Western Reserve University, and Dr. Walter Ackah, a 2009 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. As the recruitment process in which students take the lead in coordinating introduction to dentistry programs with an emphasis on recruiting underrepresented students, the Student Ambassador Program is a good fit for the BSCP. Ms. Cunningham and Dr. Ackah had a booth at which they answered questions regarding dental careers, summer enrichment programs and the dental school application process.

The Biomedical Science Careers Program is the brainchild of Joan Y. Reede, M.D., dean for diversity and community partnerships at Harvard Medical School, and president and chair of the BSCP. In 1991, Dr. Reede began seeking ways to increase the number of underrepresented minorities at the medical school by developing a pipeline of future students. By 1994, the BSCP established its first board of directors and became a 501(c)(3) organization.

The founders of the Biomedical Science Careers Program include the Harvard Medical School Minority Faculty Development Program, the New England Board of Higher Education and the Massachusetts Medical Society.

More information about the BSCP is available on the organization’s website at www.bscp.org.