Talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not.
Despite African-Americans making up 13.4% of the nation’s population, just 5% of physicians are Black.
This representation problem is also a quality of care problem, as doctors are more likely to evaluate Black patients’ pain as less than that of white patients with the same symptoms. Numerous studies show that patients of color feel less safe with doctors than White patients, and also see improved health outcomes when they see Black doctors.
Addressing this problem will take dedication and collaboration across the government, public health, and education sectors.
As one small part of this, the Black Medical Students Scholarship will be awarded to a current or future Black medical student across any medical specialty.
This scholarship is part of the Mechanism Ventures Impact Grants Series.