It's also focused on expanding the number of doctors from all backgrounds who serve rural or tribal communities. The program in Tahlequah, the capital of the Cherokee Nation, aims to increase the number of Cherokee and other Indigenous physicians. She's now set to be part of the first graduating class at Oklahoma State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation. 'Literally, the campus, the curriculum, the staff - everything was built and hired and prepared and planned for you.' Ashton Glover Gatewood was always interested in science and medicine but didn't think about becoming a doctor until college, when she met a Native American physician for the first time. 'This is the school that is everything that I need to be successful,' said Gatewood, a member of the Choctaw Nation who also has Cherokee and Chickasaw ancestry. Leaders say the physician training program is the only one on a Native American reservation and affiliated with a tribal government. Gatewood is now set to be part of the first graduating class at Oklahoma State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation.
TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma - Ashton Glover Gatewood decided to give medical school a second try after learning about a new campus designed for Indigenous students like herself.
