Greensboro AHEC Scholar Tracks Health Career Pathway to Cone Health Residency

GREENSBORO, N.C. - July 14, 2021 - PRLog -- As a boy in Ghana, Prosper Amponsah, MD, MPH, already knew that he wanted to be a doctor — even before his family immigrated to Greensboro.

"Seeing my parents work hard or make sacrifices motivated me to stay on the course," says Dr. Amponsah, who had no healthcare role models growing up, but was driven by a hope to one day serve the needs he saw in his communities. He attributes the availability of health education pathway programs like Greensboro AHEC Scholars to helping him achieve his goals.

"I also had to rely on my internal drive to continue this long journey," he says in 2021, transitioning as a graduate of the UNC School of Medicine to an internship at Cone Health's Internal Medicine Residency Program.

"We are excited to both welcome Dr. Amponsah to our residency program at Cone Health and to watch his autonomy grow in this clinically challenging yet supportive environment," says Emily Mullen, MD, Program Director for the residency program. "His contributions as a resident and as a future internist will be invaluable to the communities that we serve."

"I hope to come out of residency with the skills and knowledge needed to work as either a hospitalist or an outpatient provider," says Dr. Amponsah, whose interest in residency at Cone Health stemmed from his undergraduate medical education experience within the system.

"Cone has a very family-oriented program that is committed to serving the people of Greensboro and surrounding communities," he says.

AHEC Scholars Enriched Dr. Amponsah's Pathway

Vital to Dr. Amponsah's journey has been the AHEC Scholars program, which he completed this year as a member of Greensboro AHEC's Cohort 2. He considers such health career pathway programs to be a key element of promoting workforce diversification, an issue close to his heart.

"There are not many black men in medicine, so I wanted to make it so I can be a mentor to those who hope to join this profession," he says. "Greensboro is home to a significant number of refugees and immigrants, so I hope to serve as both their doctor and their advocate. I am interested in addressing the multiple barriers to care many patients with low socioeconomic status encounter, including lack of transportation, language barriers, health literacy, or lack of trust in the health system."

"As a Scholar, Dr. Amponsah was able to apply real-world solutions to current and emerging challenges in healthcare, and his expertise added value to our program," says Patricia Parrish, MS, CHC, CDP, Greensboro AHEC Director for Health Careers, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Greensboro AHEC Graduate Medical Education Support contact: terry.lynn@conehealth.com

Greensboro AHEC Scholars contact: patricia.parrish@conehealth.com