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All About Health Careers: Fulfilling
A Need
- Most racial and ethnic minorities are under-represented within
the health professions. For example, just 10 percent of physicians,
8 percent of dentists, and 13 percent of registered nurses are
African American, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaska Native,
Hawaiian Native, or Pacific Islander. The U.S. population, on
the other hand, is 29 percent minority and expected to grow
to 41 percent by 2030.
- None of the most visible health professions disciplines have
under-represented minority enrollments that come close to matching
their percentages in the total population, much less the projected
increase.
- In fact, enrollments are dropping. With the 1996 elimination
of affirmative action in public post-secondary and graduate
schools in California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, the
number of under-represented minorities applying to medical schools
in these States fell precipitously according to data from the
Association of American Medical Colleges.
- Over the past 6 years, the number of minorities applying to
medical schools dropped. Between 1999 and 2000, URM applicants
actually increased by 2%, while nonURM applicants declined 6.3%,
but then declined again for both groups in 2001 (-4.5% for URMs
vs - 6.2% for nonURMs).
- These enrollments matter because minority health care professionals
provide more care for the poor and uninsured and for patients
in their own racial/ethnic groups than nonminority providers.
Thus, minority representation within the health professions
directly relates to access to health care services in underserved
communities.
- It also relates to quality of health care. According to the
Association of American Medical Colleges, the quality of care
given to underserved minorities is "inferior" to that
available to the general population.
- Annual death rates for minorities in general are about 50
percent higher than for nonminorities, lowering life expectancy
by about 5 years for minority women and 8 years for minority
men.
- Declining minority enrollments in health care training and
the consequent health threat to the Nation's disadvantaged and
minorities prompted HRSA not only to establish the Kids into
Health Careers initiative as a way of exposing under-represented
minority youth to health career opportunities, but also to call
upon grantees as Kids into Health Careers ambassadors.
*Association of American Medical Colleges, Minority
Students In Medical Education, Facts and Figures XII, 2002 Edition.
The following federally funded health programs provide additional
health career information.
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