In November 2022, A-Team Med was founded by Matthew and Hannah upon a series of conversations reflecting on their personal journeys to medicine and examining Asian American positionality in professional spheres, society, and beyond. 

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     Growing up in California, Matthew and Hannah, from the Bay Area and Orange County respectively, collectively recall the significant resistance towards their motivations to pursue medicine. Specifically, the incessant questions — “Are your parents making you do medicine?” “Oh, you’re another pre-med. Don’t all Asians want to be doctors?” -- are some of the many negative stereotype-driven assumptions projected on Asian American pre-medical students. The internalization of these harmful comments can perpetuate self-fulfilling prophecies that lower their self-confidence and discourage them from uncovering their authentic “Why medicine?.” It is not uncommon for students to begin to believe these stereotypes and feel a sense of shame towards themselves and aspirations for medicine. Thus, paradoxically, these self-deprecating doubts can further reinforce risk-averse tendencies, in fear of deviating from conventional normativity and “standing out.” Each individual’s journey to medicine is a unique one; however due to external and internal resistance, many students inadvertently follow a prescribed blueprint based upon limiting societal expectations rather than their own true passions and story. 

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     One challenge every prospective Asian American medical school applicant has faced is finding the answer to “In what ways do you contribute to diversity?”. The label of being “overrepresented in medicine,” is a source of shame that causes many students to fail to embrace their cultural heritage and family background. Consequently, an overwhelming number of students undergo the spiral of insecurities, self-hatred, and imposter syndrome that ultimately hinders their potential to see their worth and need in medicine. 

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     Furthermore, without a lack of strong Asian American representation in political leadership, mainstream media, and academia, many Asian American students struggle to find role models for inspiration and guidance. Role models are living testaments of possibility, and are critical for empowering confidence to the next generation of physician-leaders. The absence of Asian American leaders and preference towards Western leadership styles in society prompt young Asian Americans to believe they themselves are incapable of leading, bolstering the destructive stereotypes towards Asian American personalities as “submissive, passive, and apathetic”. 

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      These shared sentiments among the Asian American community, coupled with the void of available platforms to voice the Asian American experience in medicine, propelled us to create A-Team Med as a safe and supportive environment to guide the next generation of pre-medical students in recognizing their own potential, claiming their individual narratives, and imparting a growth mindset towards lifelong learning.