When Arkansas State approached the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) about starting an osteopathic school of medicine, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee was one of its biggest supporters.
“Fundamentally, it kind of captured my motivation in medical education and health care,” says Ross-Lee, who now serves as dean of the school, which welcomed 115 students this fall. She is also vice president for health sciences and medical affairs at NYIT.
When comparing all 50 states, research shows Arkansas has one of the largest shortages of physicians and lowest population health statuses. It’s been dubbed one of the sickest states in the union, Ross-Lee says.
At the helm of the new school, she seeks to raise those numbers using her passion for health care equality and experiences of overcoming as the underdog.
After Ross-Lee entered Wayne State University pre-med, she received a discouraging piece of information. Her White, female adviser “didn’t think women or minorities should pursue medicine,” she recalls.
“But that was not usual at the time,” she adds, noting that opportunities in the medical field for people like her were slim in the 1960s. Thus, she pursued chemistry and biology majors, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1965.
She then found a position working at an osteopathic hospital. This was her first encounter with this type of practice, which trains doctors to use a more hands-on and holistic approach to healing. Through the National Teacher Corps, she advanced her studies, earning a master’s degree in education from Wayne State.
