The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Doctor wants to make a difference
Inspired by his Mexican healer father, son goes to med school.
DENVER — Will Mundo thought his dad was a doctor.
Growing up in a Leadville, Colorado, trailer park, Mundo watched his immigrant father treat the injuries and maladies of the largely low-income, uninsured and undocumented population in their community. He saw his father treat a wood chopper’s lacerated hand, applying pressure and coffee grounds to stop the bleeding.
It wasn’t until later in Mundo’s life that he realized his father never went to medical school, or even college. He was a healer who used his knowledge of traditional Mexican medicine and first aid to help a neighborhood in need.
“That’s where I first had that image of what a doctor is,” Mundo said. “From there, it just blossomed. It became a dream and then a goal and, shortly after that, it became reality.”
Mundo, 29, a child of two Mexican immigrants and a first-generation college graduate of the University of Colorado Denver, is halfway through his residency in Denver Health’s emergency medicine program. He knows his path to medicine and his future career as a doctor are fortified by his culture every step of the way.
Even as a child, Mundo noticed the disparities that made it feel like a career in medicine was stacked against him. He attended Lake County High School in Leadville, Colorado, a town of about 2,600 that is 100 miles southwest of Denver. That school district was known at the time for its well-below-average graduation rates and low test scores. Yet about 30 miles up the road in Vail, Mundo said, it was a different story.
“A lot of wealthy people live in those communities, and with the property taxes funding the schools, you can just see the disparities,” Mundo said. “It was a bumpy ride.”
Inspired by his father, Mundo knew he wanted to go into medicine, but no one in his family knew much about college or how to get there. Luckily, Mundo said, his family was supportive of his dreams, and he reached out for help from local mentors and educators.
“I had the support system available to be able to counteract all those negative forces trying to maintain the status quo,” he said.
Mundo became a lifeguard at 16 and learned first aid. Next, he earned his wilderness first responder certificate, then his emergency medical technician certification.
Mundo studied at CU Denver and graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 2022. An interest in health equity and learning about the worse health outcomes marginalized people often experience made him vow to make a difference as a doctor.
“While Will has seen extraordinary results because of his hard work and determination to receive an education and give back to his family and community, so many people can relate to Will’s story and experiences,” said Marie Williams, CU Denver’s vice chancellor of marketing and communications, noting that Mundo has earned multiple degrees while being a first-generation American and the first person in his family to attend college.
Data from a 2022 study by the Pew Research Center showed that Hispanic adults are less likely than other Americans to have health insurance and get preventative medical care. Reasons for this disparity include language and cultural barriers, as well as economic barriers among Hispanic people, particularly recent immigrants, the researchers found.
Now, Mundo is working with Denver Health’s language and interpretation office on a mandatory training program about how to offer language services and work with translators for patients.
Mundo remembers acting as a translator at his grandmother’s doctor appointments as a child and feeling the pressure of translating important medical information without understanding adult conversations.
“The hope is for patients to be able to communicate with their doctors and tell them what’s going on rather than relying on a little kid or just not being able to communicate at all,” Mundo said.
Mundo’s hope is to one day work at a Level 1 trauma center like Denver Health. And during his career, Mundo also hopes to be a mentor and inspiration for other aspiring Latino doctors.
Only 7% of all physicians and surgeons in the United States are Hispanic, Pew data shows. Its data also shows that Hispanics make up roughly 19% of the nation’s population.
“A lot of people doing the work to help reduce health disparities are minority people,” Mundo said. “And we need this work. If we don’t, who else is going to do it? We need new ideas, we need people to challenge the way that things have been done in the past.
“One easy way to do it is increasing representation or diversity — socioeconomic diversity, gender diversity and thinking about different types of abilities, as well.”