America’s Health Care Workforce Is in Crisis

Dr. Jonathan Tyes once struggled to imagine a future in medicine for himself. A first-generation college student and the oldest of 10 siblings, Tyes was raised by his grandparents in Cleveland. While studying biology at Morehouse College, he was a few credits from graduation when his grandmother died. Grief and financial hardship threatened to end both his education and his dream of becoming the first physician in his family. Instead, he spent years rebuilding his path. He worked throughout school, served those in need as a community health worker, completed medical mission trips to Ghana, became a registered pharmacy technician, and refused to abandon his goal of practicing medicine. Eventually, as a non-traditional student in his mid-thirties, he got into medical school. Though his family faced homelessness, gun violence, and other tribulations throughout his education, he stayed the course. Financial support from our organization, National Medical Fellowships (NMF), helped him remain enrolled and continue his training. Now, Tyes is an anesthesiology resident at the University of Buffalo, while at the same time pursuing a master of public health degree at Harvard.His story is a t...