Former Black Security Guard Becomes Medical Student At Hospital Where He Once Worked
A Black doctor is now a medical student at Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Louisiana, where he used to work as a security guard.
Dr. Russell Ledet, 34, who is now working on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic, said that he remembers studying flashcards while working as a security guard, asking doctors if he could shadow them. Five years later, Dr. Patrick Greiffenstent, the chief surgery resident, is one of Ledet’s mentors that agreed to the job.
“This is one of those reflective points when you're trying to understand how far you've come and how far you got to go,” Ledet told Good Morning America.
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The U.S. Navy veteran who has a Ph.D. in molecular oncology from New York University is currently enrolled at Tulane University in their M.B.A. program and medical school.
Helping to break barriers as a Black man in the medical field, Dr. Ledet helped organize a photo alongside his fellow Black students from Tulane’s Student National Medical Association wearing their white coats in front of Whitney Plantation, which has now been turned into a museum.
The idea behind the viral photo was to “illustrate our presence and the history behind where we are today,” he told GMA in an interview last year.
“I'm from Louisiana," Ledet said. "Being from here and understanding a lot of the health burdens and health disparities, I know if I'm not loud about it, then who will be?"
