Dedicated educator Norma Martinez-Rogers, Ph.D., R.N., clinical associate professor in family nursing, was recently invited to join the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) expert panel, making her the first and only nurse representative on the prestigious panel.
Dr. Martinez-Rogers joins current Health Science Center representatives Martha Medrano, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Medical Hispanic Center of Excellence, and Ramon Baez, D.D.S., director of the Dental Hispanic Center of Excellence. They were selected to serve as representatives because of remarkable advances they have made in the Medical Hispanic Center of Excellence (M-HCOE) and Dental Hispanic Center of Excellence (D-HCOE). The remarkable centers have been made possible by grants from HRSA.
The panel is designed to address the shortage of minority faculty in the health professions. The ultimate goal of the panel is to demonstrate to the legislature that program resources and services are needed to improve access to culturally competent, quality health care. It consists of approximately 30 members that represent medical, dental, pharmacy, allied heath, and behavioral science schools nationwide.
“I would love to see the Health Science Center have a nursing Hispanic Center of Excellence,” Dr. Martinez-Rogers said. “I hope that my involvement will lead to better opportunities for nurses around the nation.”
HRSA Centers of Excellence (COE) grants are given through the Bureau of Health Professions’ support programs of excellence in health professions education for minority individuals. The grants are given to allopathic and osteopathic medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, and graduate programs in behavioral or mental health. The HRSA Bureau of Nursing has no COE grants available for the field of nursing.
However, as a recipient of HRSA’s Diversity Nursing Workforce grant, Dr. Martinez-Rogers was able to implement the Nursing School’s Juntos Podemos program. The mentorship program helps reduce the negative effects of some of the educational and social disparities students may be experiencing in nursing school. Now in its fifth year, the successful program has grown from approximately 20 members to more than 100.
As HRSA works to develop minority faculty in the health professions, the Health Science Center’s assistance plays a major role, as its representation on the expert panel exceeds all other health science centers nationally.
“No other institution in the nation has three representatives on the HRSA expert panel,” Dr. Medrano said. “The Health Science Center is extremely well-represented.”
Dr. Martinez-Rogers was named the National Hispanic Nurse of the Year by the National Association of Hispanic Nurses in 2004. Her extensive knowledge of and passion for advancing the field of nursing make her an exceptional role model and a strong representative on the panel. She credits much of Dr. Baez’s and her own success to Dr. Medrano, who has greatly assisted in making these mentoring programs into nationally recognized programs. Dr. Medrano and the M-HCOE also provided support for the nursing and dental schools to submit their applications that were successfully funded.
“Dr. Medrano has been a strong mentor to me and has given me guidance,” Dr. Martinez-Rogers said. “She has been excellent in sharing information with me and I know she’s done the same for Dr. Baez.”
“Faculty development is so important,” Dr. Medrano emphasized. “If someone has an area of expertise and does not share it with others, no one will benefit from it. Mentorship and collegiality play the biggest role in developing successful faculty members, which lead to a stronger institution.”
Drs. Baez, Medrano and Martinez-Rogers consistently work together to provide mentorship programs to bring minorities to the Health Science Center and the health professions.
