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| NOVANT HEALTH |
| Novant Health oncologist Dr. William Charles mentors prospective medical students through a lunch program at Hopewell High School. |
Novant Health oncologist Dr. William Charles makes it his mission to equip students with the guidance they need to study medicine.
Charles, who grew up in the Caribbean, knew from an early age he wanted to become a doctor, a dream sparked by his parents, who were both nurses. He faced stumbling blocks, and the journey wasn’t always easy, but Charles was persistent. Now, he wants to equip future doctors with what they need to succeed.
“When you embark on a major career, support is so important,” Charles said. “Once you go to college and decide you want to become a doctor, the people who supported you in the beginning will still support you, but not in the way you need support at that point. You need support in the sense of seeing other people who are doing it in real time.”
Part of that support is Novant’s Diversity in Medicine Luncheon, which brings students and medical professionals together. A factor in starting the luncheon program was Charles’ son, who also studied medicine. Charles saw the need for his son to have someone with hands-on experience in the field in addition to academics.
“I was quite surprised that even for him to get into a situation where he was working with some of my colleagues was really difficult for him,” Charles said. “I thought that it really didn’t need to be that difficult.”
America has a shortage of doctors from underrepresented groups. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, 841,322 physicians identified as Black in the U.S. in 2021, which accounted for 5.7% of all doctors.
Before the first luncheon at Hopewell High School in the spring, Charles was a part of a program called Black Men in White Coats where 30 Black doctors spoke to dozens of students. Charles felt the event was a success and wanted to grow the idea. The event coordinator, Chanel Newton, had connections at Hopewell, so Charles knew where he needed to start.
“I wanted to get in front of the students in their environment,” Charles said. “It just so happened that (Newton) knew the principal at Hopewell High School. So, we arranged to meet with the students during their lunch break. It was really wonderful. What was supposed to be a one-hour session ended up being two and a half hours.”
One of the students Charles interacted with was Jewel Wood, who is now in her first year at Howard University on a pre-med track.
“I went to the luncheon in the second semester of my senior year,” Wood said. “I had already decided what I wanted to go into and wanted to do the pre-med track. So, going to the luncheon for me was the first time seeing a doctor, especially an African American male, come and actually talk to students.”
Charles encouraged Woods to continue to press forward toward her dreams although there will be hard times in her journey, which resonated with her.
“Dr. Charles really talked a lot with all the students but even more in our conversation about the adversity we’ll face,” Wood said. “Any journey in any career is going to be a bit difficult and you are going to have hard moments, but especially being an African American in a field where many people might not look like you. He just kept encouraging us to press on and to keep going in those difficult moments.”
Charles feels he learned more from Wood than she gained from him.
“One of the things I’ve learned being asked questions by the students is you have to be in tune with your craft,” Charles said. “You want to make sure you have the proper information for a question that is being asked. So, for me, I enjoy having interactions with the students because I maintain my sharpness.”
The program has left such a great impression on Wood that she feels like she would want to start a program like this of her own one day. She has a passion for community outreach and admits she was skeptical at first, knowing how busy doctors’ schedules are.
“Seeing him not only make the time but be intentional with his time with us was really encouraging,” Wood said. “It let me know that I can have these passions for mentoring and community outreach while still being a doctor. It isn’t a dream that I have to set aside but they can be intertwined with each other.”
Wood’s passion for mentorship goes hand-in-hand with what she wants to specialize in as a doctor.
“I’ve looked a lot into pediatrics and becoming a pediatrician,” Wood said. “I am still kind of considering everything. But, if I had to choose today, I would want to be a neonatologist who works with (neonatal intensive care unit) babies. In order to do that, I first have to specialize in pediatrics and do my residency there. And, aside from being a doctor, I want to do community outreach or even health education with local youth.”
While the luncheon program is still in its “infancy” phase as Charles calls it, he hopes there can be more opportunities in the future. He wants students to set milestones for themselves that can help them get priorities in order so that several small steps don’t seem like large ones.
“Although some of us can do this out of order,” Charles said, “life can be much easier if you can put things in a proper order. For me, this is something that I am realizing talking to these kids that really needs to improve. But, if you have some type of structure as to where you want to be when you are 35 years old, you can achieve it.”
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