Mentorship Matters: Kristyn Mitchell, M.D., Returns to ChristianaCare to Serve Her Neighbors

As early as high school, Kristyn Mitchell dreamed of wearing a white coat like the doctors she saw bustling down the halls of ChristianaCare, where she was a volunteer and her mother worked as a clinical nurse specialist. But, hindered by her self-doubt and the various challenges associated with medical school, she was following another path when fate — in the shape of a physician mentor — stepped in.

Enter Marshala Lee-McCall, M.D., MPH, director of the iREACH Harrington Community Partnership Fund, who met Mitchell at a premedical reception sponsored by ChristianaCare.

The Institute for Research on Equity and Community Health, known as iREACH, is an embedded health research institute at ChristianaCare offering internships and mentoring programs funded by the Harrington Community Partnership Fund. The fund, which has several distinct programs, has now supported more than 300 students.

First, a research internship

As part of an iREACH program, Mitchell was selected for a year-long internship at ChristianaCare, where she worked on community-based research projects with physicians and scientists. She found herself particularly intrigued by projects that evaluated the social determinants of health among pregnant people and African American men.

“We were trying to figure out how to better treat our African American men in the Wilmington area,” for health issues like hypertension, Mitchell said.

“There can be pushback where there’s historical trauma, such as slavery and medical experimentation, that prevents people from seeing a physician — and there are many poor health outcomes associated with that.”

The research experience helped support Mitchell’s application to medical school and guided her on how to better serve diverse patient populations.

Pipeline programs break barriers

The Harrington Research Internship is one of a host of health care pipeline programs at ChristianaCare for populations, including African Americans, that are underrepresented in medicine.

These pipeline programs aim to reduce disparities in the medical field and improve health care outcomes for underrepresented populations. For instance, while African Americans account for about 12% of the U.S. population, they only make up 5.7% of active physicians, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Pipeline programs need to account for the “myriad of social factors that students from underrepresented backgrounds are more likely to face.” — Marshala Lee-McCall

The association also reports that women still account for less than 40% of active physicians, though they now represent 55% of medical school students, according to the American Academy of Medicine.

Other ChristianaCare pipeline programs include the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER) and the Visiting Student Program. (See below for more.) These programs have already found success bringing underrepresented people into medicine — just ask Mitchell.

“Dr. Lee helped me see my potential and develop my confidence as a future physician.” — Kristyn Mitchell

During medical school, Mitchell returned to ChristianaCare as part of its Visiting Clerkship Program, which offers fourth-year medical students mentorship and the chance to rotate in departments including emergency medicine, pediatrics and psychiatry. Mitchell spent a month with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology to learn more about high-risk pregnancies.

“It was unsettling to witness the extent of maternal health disparities among African American women in our society,” Mitchell said. “It just didn’t sit well with me.”

Why mentorship matters

By this time, Mitchell had developed a close relationship with Lee-McCall, who oversees several of ChristianaCare’s pipeline programs and mentored Mitchell. Mentoring programs for medical students can positively improve medical school satisfaction and career development, according to a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

“Dr. Lee helped me see my potential and develop my confidence as a future physician,” Mitchell said. “Having someone genuinely support me as I navigate this career path has been amazing.”

Their closeness extended beyond the hospital walls. Mitchell even met Lee-McCall’s now-husband and gave the couple her “stamp of approval” before their marriage.

“That’s the type of mentor I had,” said Lee-McCall, who earned her medical degree from Brown University and her master’s in public health at Harvard University.

“It’s one thing to give guidance to students,” she said, “but when you know those people, when you can touch them and you understand their successes and their challenges, it goes a long way.”

“I’m back home. And it’s been so rewarding to serve my community.” — Kristyn Mitchell, M.D.

Creating the type of pipeline programs that fostered her connection with Mitchell is integral to increasing the representation of minorities in medicine, she said.

“Developing the pipeline takes sustained commitment,” said Lee-McCall. “Programming can’t be just focused on academic rigor or exposure but needs to account for the myriad of social factors that students from underrepresented backgrounds are more likely to face, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.”

Mitchell graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in May and matched at ChristianaCare’s OB/GYN residency program, her No. 1 ranked program. It was truly full circle, going back to the very hospital where she was born.

“I’m back home,” she said. “And it’s been so rewarding to serve my community.”

Full circle: Kristyn Mitchell was born at Christiana Hospital, is an OB/GYN resident there, and helped deliver her mentor’s first child there.

The timing was fortuitous: Lee-McCall was expecting her first child and was eager to welcome her mentee into her delivery room. “I have a lot of medical problems, so I’m a good test case,” said Lee-McCall. “I wanted to let Kristyn learn from my experience so she could be a better doctor.”

Mitchell was by her mentor’s side to welcome Baby Jason into the world.

“She got some real time experience from a high-risk delivery,” said Lee-McCall. “My first baby is her first baby.”

For Mitchell, it was a dream come true. “I aspired to become a physician, but I didn’t think that dream would ultimately become my reality,” she said. “I’m grateful for the guidance and encouragement from my mentors along the way.

“To whoever’s reading this: If you’re limiting your ability to succeed, or struggling navigating your career path, remember you do not need to do this alone.  Find your mentors and your community.”

Health care pipeline programs at ChristianaCare

ChristianaCare offers a host of health care pipeline programs — from grade school through residency — including:

• The Delaware Health Career Collaborative offers a free, two-week immersive opportunity that exposes high school students to a variety of clinical and non-clinical career paths in a health care setting.
• Camp Scrubs provides teens and tweens firsthand hospital experience and insight into health care careers through a partnership between ChristianaCare’s Cecil County campus and Cecil College.
• Health Equity Explorers gives high school students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine a day to hear from experts, conduct hands-on activities in training labs, tour clinical areas and meet older students, clinicians and scientists.
• Through the Summer VolunTeen Program, ChristianaCare opens its doors to teen volunteers who assist with patient and administrative support tasks while learning from health care professionals.
• A pre-med symposium for college students under-represented in medicine offers insight into the medical school application process; volunteering, shadowing and research as pathways to medical school; paying for a medical education; and hands-on simulations.
• The Gene Editing Institute’s Gene Editing 360™ program engages young people in genomic science by offering hands-on CRISPR experiments to demystify gene editing and explore its health care applications.
• Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER) provides financial support to residents of Delaware to attend medical school and creates a pipeline to supply highly qualified doctors to Delaware.
• The Visiting Student Program provides support for fourth-year medical students who are underrepresented minorities to participate in ChristianaCare’s medical student programs.
• MCAT Prep Program – Exam preparation program in collaboration with Kaplan and the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance to assist pre-medical college students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine to successfully prepare for the MCAT.