The Three Doctors - A Model For Leadership

Described by Oprah Winfrey as“The Premiere Role Models of the World” 

I've wanted to share this story for a while, just because it is so inspirational and simple in its message. It's a story that resonates with a lot of health care professionals when we delve into the world of story and its power to facilitate behaviour change, inspiration and more. A decade and a half ago, three teenage boys from the streets of Newark, New Jersey made a pact: They would stick together, go to college, and become doctors. Now, over 13 years later, these three men have overcome obstacles and proudly bear the subtitle of doctors.

Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt deliver a message of hope and inspiration everywhere they go. Their key messages-Never underestimate the power of self-reliance and inner strength-attach a timeline and devise a strategy for achieving your goals-and finally-Surround yourself with like-minded people who are in line with your aspirations.

The Three Doctors is a group of African-American motivational speakers, authors, and doctors. They only ever speak as a group.

I love how they describe themselves on their Facebook page: "Doctors, Authors, Motivational Speakers, Medical Correspondents, and Mentors. ...Because our children can not aspire to be what they can not see...."

The trio is made up of Dr. Rameck Hunt, Dr. Sampson Davis, and Dr. George Jenkins. All three grew up in Newark, New Jersey, where they met each other in high school. The three grew up in public housing and were members of low-income families. During high school, the three made a pact to get through high school, college and medical school successfully.

Rameck Hunt grew up in a childhood where the only person he could depend on was his grandma. He had many ups and downs in his life, like dealing with his mum being a drug addict, hanging with the wrong crowd who got him into trouble, and thinking the way to succeed in life is by selling drugs and stealing. Even though he kept hanging out with the wrong crowd, he wanted to be a different person. With the help of his two friends Sampson and George, he came to be a successful person. The hardest thing he had to overcome was his anger problems. When he was in high school, he sprayed a teacher with silly string and beat a boy up and broke his neck. He decided he had to deal with his anger problems and let go. He started to go to school more and got good grades in school. Rameck turned his life around and graduated from medical school.

All the three doctors attended Seton Hall University on courses paid for through a scholarship program. During college, Hunt, Davis, and Jenkins often felt like giving up, and they sought advice from college counsellor Carla Dickson. After college, Hunt and Davis attended medical school, while Jenkins attended dental school. This was the first time since high school in which the three were split. All three passed and earned medical degrees at their respective schools.

The Three Doctors serves as an extraordinary model of leadership for anyone whose been through any kind of hardship whether it’s coping with the struggles of the street or internal challenges of dealing with self, finding our place in the world and determining our own unique destinies.

Recommended Reading:

Their book, The PACT is a compelling and inspiring true story of three boys who grow up to become doctors. For those with money, a nurturing family, social connections, and the means to afford higher education, this would be the American dream - and frankly, a less than inspiring story. But The PACT is not about those types of boys.The PACT tells the story of three African American boys raised amidst the chaos and pressures of a fragmented community. These boys were not the suburban picture of early success; they were the type of young boys many people get nervous passing on the street. These boys were told and taught they had no hope for the future. They questioned if they could survive in the neighborhood past their teens, with two of the three authors in juvenile detention centers before their 18th birthdays.

These intertwined autobiographies depict a remarkable journey away from poverty, drugs, and crime to medical school. Throughout this journey the authors work to close economic, cultural, achievement, and generational gaps. They model and impart valuable lessons about courage, trust, perseverance, hope, drive, and most importantly, the positive power of friendship. These are universal lessons to be learned by all readers, young and old. Each author tells his personal account of the doubts, struggles, and demons he faced in his individual struggle to achieve as well as survive. You will be drawn into their lives, silently rooting for their survival. As you are reading, you may surprise yourself as you identify with their personal struggles. The boys facing their challenges struggle with the same issues as most people: needing to belong, to be loved, accepted, to feel safe, validated as human beings, and longing to achieve. But they are also frightened of what it will take to overcome the obstacles so clearly in the way. The obstacles of self-doubt, fear, addiction, easy money, and "good enough" achievements are found in The PACT, but also is suicide, AIDS, gangs, violence, and blatant victimization.