Though there have been substantial efforts in increasing the racial and ethnic diversity in medicine, there has been minimal growth in people who identify as American Indian-Alaska Native and apply and enroll in medical school in the U.S., according to a new report released Tuesday.
Titled “Reshaping the Journey: American Indians and Alaska Natives in Medicine” the report was completed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) and is the first study that focuses on the state of American Indian-Alaska Native representation in the medical field.
“We [AAMC and AAIP] find that we all need to come together, whether it’s in tribal communities across the United States, our medical schools, undergraduate institutions, community colleges … that really takes a community approach to really make a difference,” said Dr. Norma Poll-Hunter, the senior director of Human Capital Initiatives at AAMC and one of the report’s lead authors.
The report found that:
– During the 2017-2018 academic year, 0.19 percent of total medical student applicants were students who identified as American Indian-Alaska Native and 0.20 percent matriculated.
– In 2016, 0.56 percent of active physicians, or physicians and surgeons working at least 20 hours a week in the United States reported as American Indian-Alaska Native.
– In 2017, 0.10 percent of total full-time faculty at MD-granting institutions were reported as solely American Indian-Alaska Native and 0.38 percent were reported as American Indian-Alaska Native in combination with another race or ethnicity. These results exhibit a problem that has received little attention and presents a major concern for Native communities and the health of all in the United States, the report said.
