Our 3 areas of focus are:
Increasing the pipeline of minority clinicians, making the pipeline of minority clinicians less leaky and supporting minority clinicians in practice
Undergraduate pre-med and pre-health students photographed at the 7th Annual Diversity in Medicine Conference “Building the Black Doctor Factory.”
Our Team
What began as a request to help recruit minority physicians to speak on a panel at Franklin & Marshall College, has blossomed into an important initiative. Dr. Cherise Hamblin, Franklin & Marshall College alumna, Dr. Sharee Livingston, OBGYN Department Chair and Dr. Wendy Goodall McDonald, known on social media as Dr. Every Woman, have come together to formalize Patients R Waiting.
Dr. Cherise Hamblin
Founder
Dr. Cherise Hamblin was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. She attended Bronx High School of Science and attended at Franklin & Marshall College. During her F&M years she was active on campus, serving as Black Student Union Vice President, Admission office intern for Minority Recruitment, playing rugby and studying abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Dr. Hamblin graduated from F&M in 2003 with a double major in Biology & Spanish. She went on to medical school Northwestern University and completed her training in Obstetrics & Gynecology in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. Hamblin is passionate about working with the next generation of physicians and since her return to Lancaster she has worked with advisors, students and community organizers on various mentoring and exposure programs.
She is the founder and president of Patients R Waiting, a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating health disparities by increasing diversity in medicine. She is a full time, board certified OBGYN. She enjoys doing surgery, delivering babies and caring for women of all ages. When she is not working, she enjoys family life with her husband, daughter and son.
Dr. Sharee Livingston
Founding Board Member
Dr. Livingston was born and raised in Harrisburg, PA. She always knew she wanted to become a physician. She expressed particular interest in Women’s Health at an early age. She started working as a candy striper at Community General Osteopathic Hospital at age 9.
Dr. Livingston received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. She received her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Livingston completed a rigorous Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA.
In 2006, she began practicing as an Ob/Gyn at UPMC Lititz. She serves as the Ob/Gyn Department Chair and is a member of the UPMC Lititz Board of Trustees. She is the highest volume female robotic surgeon in the county of Lancaster. Living less than a mile away from each other for years, Dr. Hamblin and Dr. Livingston crossed paths in outreach for planning the 3rd annual Diversity in medicine conference. Feeling compelled to do more, Dr. Livingston joined the Patients R Waiting team and is helping to increase the pipeline for young scientists of color to reach their goals of becoming physicians.
She is honored to be the president of MOKA moms (Moms of Kids Advancing – Mothers of Color in Medicine/Science).
Dr. Livingston gains all of her pride and joy as the wife of Ivan Anderson, her childhood friend and neighbor. Together, they are blessed to enjoy two daughters, Addison and Ainsley and six year old twin boys Ivan and Troy.
Dr. Wendy Goodall McDonald
Founding Board Member
Dr. Goodall McDonald and Dr. Hamblin attended medical school together and have been long time friends and confidants. Over the years, they have shared ideas and Patients R Waiting is their first formal professional collaboration.