In February, Ingenuity Lab member, Miranda Ntorinkansah, was invited to speak on the student panel for the Midlands Racial Equality in Medicine 2022 Conference.
Hosted by the University of Warwick, the MREM conference was designed to bring together medical schools in the Midlands to tackle racial inequalities and close the attainment gap in medicine.
Miranda, a third-year Medicine student and Witty Entrepreneurial Scholar, founded Med2Be Consultants in 2021, inspired by her struggles when applying to Medical School. Growing up in London as the daughter of first-generation immigrants, she experienced first-hand how hard it can be for state-educated students and those from under-served communities to get the support needed to successfully apply to study Medicine.
“I had a fantastic time at the MREM Conference last month,” said Miranda. “I had the opportunity to meet my peers from various medical schools in the region and learnt more about Warwick Medical School’s initiatives like decolonising their curriculum and improving representation in their leadership. As a panellist, I also shared more about my story and some of my struggles as a black, first-generation medic. It was great to learn more about how to advocate for myself and others, and gave me the opportunity to meet different medics within the region.”
Med2Be is a student-led organisation that aims to break down the barriers standing in the way of successfully achieving a place on a medical, dental or pharmacy course. Miranda and her co-founder Chiedza work with a team of medical, dental and pharmacy students from some of the top schools in the country, who know what it takes to get into these competitive courses.
“It was very difficult getting to where I am now, and I made many mistakes along the way, partly because I didn’t have anybody I could go to for advice,” she explained. “My parents didn’t go to university in the UK, so they didn’t know how the system worked, and the school I went to didn’t have the facilities or track record of sending students to medical school either.”
She has since been returned to her secondary school to work with young people who aspire to enter the medical profession.
“Five years ago, I didn’t feel like those options were available to me,” she said. “My journey was a long and rigorous one with many hurdles and disappointments along the way. But I wouldn’t change any part of it, as it taught me many key lessons, and formed the basis and passion that led me to start my business.”
Through the Witty Entrepreneurial Scholarship and her membership of the Ingenuity Lab, Miranda has been able to receive support and advice to help establish and grow her business, all while juggling her studies as a third-year Medic.
Miranda added: “Support from the Scholarship and the Lab has really helped, especially as I do not have that business background. It’s so much more than just providing our services to students – it’s how we market ourselves, how we grow our following – it’s this side of things I didn’t have much prior knowledge of. But being part of this is building my knowledge and makes me want to learn more about the business side of things.”
