Cultural Understanding Critical to Care

Minority applicants to medical schools are on the rise. Organizations liek the Association of Ameican Medical Colleges have launched campaigns to increase awareness of the glaring gap (see Aspiring Docs) and increase recruitment of diverse individuals to the health care industry.

An article by the American Medical News in late 2008 reported that first-year medical school enrollment for Hispanics was up by 10 percent from the previous year and that American Indian and Alaska Native enrollees increased by more than 5 percent from the previous year. Enrollemnt for African Americans had also increased, but only slightly.

Ultimately, the answers lie in elementary and high school education to prepare all students for careers in health care. Often, students from under-represented groups are not exposed to enough science and math in high school to be able to excel in those classes in college that would prepare them for advancement to medical school.

Affirmative Action Register: Summer 2009

Climbing Careers

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, wage and salary employment in the health care industry is projected to increase 22 percent through 2016; this is very significant compared to the 11 percent increase for all industries combined. The health care industry is expected to provide approximately 3 million new jobs in teh 2006 - 2016 period.

Affirmative Action Register: Summer 2009