Welcome to August’s 4th BIPOC Highlight edition! Scroll below to learn about the vast underrepresentation of minorities in the health workforce!
Underrepresented Minorities in the Health Workforce
By Vanessa Cano
“If academic medical centers and their leaders cannot adequately support Black students and promote Black faculty, then they will continue to leave. I was not the first to leave such a center and I will certainly not be the last.” – Dr.Uché Blackstock
In the articles written by our wonderful team this month, it is clear to see the many injustices that BIPOC ( Black, Indiegnous, People of color) have faced within the healthcare system. With patient treatment, BIPOC is shown to have higher risk rates of medical conditions. Unfortunately, systematic racism is also widely apparent in the medical workforce and in education across the country. Dr.Uche Blackstock, a Board-certified Medicine physician, is just one of million who experience racism and sexism within the medical institution. She found herself in the middle of an environment that was not only dangerous and oppressive for people of color, but also one that did not meet the standards of taking responsibility for those inequities.
Research has shown that there has not only been an underrepresented community of BIPOC in the workforce, but also within medical schools. Despite Latinos and African Americans community making up around 30 – 54 percent of the U.S. population, they only made up 16 percent of the total U.S. medical enrollment in 2012. According to the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), in 2019, medical school faculty has continued to be predominantly White, making up about 63.9 percent of the workforce. Therefore, underrepresentation of the BIPOC community remains a problem.
Why is this a problem? With a lack of representation in the workforce and medical schools, comes a shortage of physicians that have a higher percentage of patient populations with lower incomes and health status – these minority physicians tend to practice in underserved areas, which have been often ignored, increasing cultural competency and increasing access to high-quality healthcare services–This lack of representation furthermore leaves holes in research for unsolved health problems which unproportionally affects the BIPOC community. Physicians from the BIPOC community may also be able to foster stronger connections with similar patients and understand the concerns and fears behind their own community.
How can we fix this problem? There have been programs and acts designed to bring a larger number of minorities into medical schools and the workforce. However, as we have seen, these have not been effective. In order to help fight the problem, there must be increased amounts of funding, training opportunities, internships, and undergraduate research opportunities for the BIPOC community. This also includes mentorships, sponsorships, decreasing barriers in promotion and advancement, and newly created supportive environments. Without these reforms, racism in medicine will continue to exist. Medical schools, medical centers, and the entire medical workforce needs to adapt,, commit time, effort, and resources to dismantling these racial inequalities. Our current institutional cultures must seek change for the future generations of doctors to reach their full potential.
Works Cited:
Underrepresented Minorities:
Medical Wonders 