Ridgeway represents Whiddon COM on national stage for medical student advising and disability inclusion
Posted on April 1, 2026 by Marketing and Communications
Laventrice S. Ridgeway, Ed.D., assistant dean of student affairs at the Whiddon College
of Medicine, was selected to share his expertise on two national platforms in March,
addressing critical transitions in medical education and disability inclusion.
Ridgeway first joined the Group on Student Affairs (GSA) Student Opportunity, Access, and Retention (SOAR) Committee for a national community call titled “Bridging Barriers and Designing Clear, Adaptable Career Advising Models” on March 30. The session focused on the shifting landscape of residency applications and the national need for consistent, fair advising models to support students during the transition from Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) to Graduate Medical Education (GME).
“Having the opportunity to work with student leaders and colleagues across the country ensures that our decisions and advising models stay on the right track,” Ridgeway said. “It is vital that we lead from the heart while providing the clear, actionable guidance our students need to navigate their professional futures.”
Following the community call, Ridgeway served as a panelist for a national webinar on March 31 to introduce the ACGME/Docs With Disabilities Initiative’s UME-to-GME Transition Toolkit, which he and the panelists developed over the past several years. Supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the toolkit is a practical, disability-informed resource designed to support medical students with disabilities and the institutions that train them.
The toolkit addresses a common gap in medical education: the lack of clear guidance for navigating disability disclosure, accommodations, and support during the residency match. During the webinar, panelists used realistic scenarios to demonstrate how the toolkit's resources — including sample emails, interview language, and post-Match communication guidance — can be applied in real time.
“Dr. Ridgeway is the embodiment of what a great student affairs professional is supposed to be: a leader who is caring, thoughtful, balanced, fair and visionary,” said Franklin Trimm, M.D., interim dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine and associate dean of health advancement. “His participation on these national panels provides an example of what it means to be student-centered and lead with intention.”