Minority representation
within the health professions directly relates to access
to health care services in underserved and rural communities
since minority healthcare professionals provide more
care for the poor and uninsured and for patients in
their own racial/ethnic groups than non-minority providers.
More than 3,000 rural and minority communities do not
have an adequate number of healthcare providers to
meet the needs of the underserved. If current trends
continue, the situation will only get worse.
In addition to being leaders,
future health professionals must also learn to be
good role models by encouraging the development of
a diverse medical and dental healthcare workforce.
Programs that expose young people to opportunities
for careers in primary care medicine and dentistry
are vital efforts to increase health care workforce
diversity. There is a need for more such programs
that encourage the younger generation from underserved
disadvantaged communities to consider careers in health
care. It is documented that if they eventually
decide to pursue a career in medicine or dentistry,
they will be more willing to return to practice in
those settings.
In order to help develop a
committed cadre of medical and dental students trained
to educate and mentor middle and high school students
on health careers options, the AMSA Foundation’s
Widening the Pipeline efforts have involved:
- Developing materials for health
professions students to use to promote health careers
to children;
- Organizing mini-conferences around
the country on pipeline projects;
- Funding medical
and dental student local pipeline projects that reach
middle and high school students.
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