US Minority Doctor Shortage

November 21, 2006 - African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans make up nearly 25% of the U.S. population but just 6% of practicing doctors in this country.
The American Association of Medical Colleges hopes to change that with its recently launched AspiringDocs campaign. The centerpiece of the effort is its
www.AspiringDocs.org. The free site provides students with information about the Medical College Assessment Test (MCAT), how to pay for medical school, the application and admissions process, links to other resource sites and information on key dates and deadlines.
Dr. Jordan Cohen, AAMC president emeritus, says the campaign is about better serving minority patients.
"Diversity among physicians provides all patients with increased access to and options for healthcare," Cohen says. "This is especially true among the nation’s underserved populations. Diversity can help to reduce health disparities as well. Patients are generally more satisfied with their care and they are more likely to report receiving higher quality of care when they are treated by a health professional of their own ethnic or racial background."
In a study targeting African American and white heart patients published in Medical Care Research and Review, 30% of African American respondents said racial discrimination in a doctor’s office is common, compared to 7.3% of whites. In that same study, 61% of African Americans said they believed they could get the kind of care they wanted, compared to 88% of whites.

The AspiringDocs Website aims to address concerns voiced by minority college students surveyed last summer. Students told the AAMC that fear of not doing well on the MCAT and an inability to pay for school were their biggest barriers to applying to medical school.
The site has an online community component which gives students additional support and a sense of community, says Elisa Siegel, senior vice president of AAMC's Office of Communications.
"It allows students to ask questions and receive advice from the AAMC and other medical school experts, financial aid advisers, medical students, and practicing physicians," she says.
The AAMC plans to spend more than $1 million on the effort in its first year. The budget for subsequent years has yet to be determined.
"We truly hope that this campaign will help to change the face of medicine in this country," Cohen says.