Our Mission
NMF broadens the pathways to medical education for students from communities underrepresented in medicine, provides transformative leadership opportunities that help to diversify clinical research, and delivers programs and supports to ensure the future success of medical students and current practitioners.
Our Vision
NMF envisions a world where everyone – regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and geography – can access affordable, culturally competent, high-quality health care.
Patients deserve care delivered by a diverse medical, clinical research, and behavioral health workforce that is not only representative of the patient populations they serve but also laser-focused on eliminating unjust and preventable health disparities nationwide.
Our Values
To thrive and make a meaningful impact, NMF celebrates and supports the unique skills and lived experiences its board and team members put into daily practice and upholds the following values in continued service of its communities and stakeholders:
- Compassion—We offer each other respect, humility, and grace.
- Empowerment—We prepare and support all people committed to health equity.
- Excellence—We amplify our North Star of advancing health equity with exceptional talent.
- Faith—We endure in the face of adversity.
- Hope—We are courageous and optimistic about the success of our collaboration.
- Integrity—We are accountable for our mission of serving our community of diverse health care leaders.
- Relationships—We steward trusting partnerships for transformational change.
- Service—We work together to solve the challenges we face.
- Teamwork—We honor and respect our team’s diverse talents.
Strategic Plan 2024 - 2028
NMF published its strategic framework in 2022 that seeks to disrupt racism in medicine to achieve lasting health equity.
The Need for NMF
Our goal is to ensure that every American has access to physicians and health care professionals who speak their language, understand their culture, and are committed to working in communities who suffer the most from health disparities.
Eliminating Health Disparities
The elimination of health disparities for Black, Indigenous, Latine, People of Color populations, as well as for low-income Americans, is an important policy goal in our nation. It is also a moral imperative.
NMF believes—and experts agree—that a very effective way to eliminate health care disparities is to increase the number of physicians from diverse backgrounds who can provide culturally competent care to chronically underserved communities.
NMF programs provide critical financial support to diverse medical students. The high cost of education in medicine and related health professions is a significant barrier for many, and NMF lessens the financial burden shouldered by our scholars.NMF has awarded over $50 million in scholarships and offers service-learning programs and mentorship opportunities to chronically marginalized students of medicine, behavioral health, and related health professions.
Through the NMF Diversity in Clinical Trials Research Program, we train diverse physicians to become Emerging Investigators and lead clinical research. By increasing the number of clinicians underrepresented in medicine who serve as Principal Investigators (PIs), the program seeks to improve patient diversity in clinical research trials, ensuring treatments and preventative regimens are thoroughly investigated across all populations.
As NMF fulfills its mission, health disparities disproportionately impacting communities made vulnerable by the pervasive effects of systemic and structural racism will decrease, and expanded access to exceptional care will create societal benefits for all.