Top 3 reasons keeping Minority students from applying to medical school:
It’s not a wonder that Black doctors make up only 5% of the U.S. workforce though we make up 13% of the general population (AAMC, 2019). We discussed in a previous blog post that there are deep systemic racialized reasons for this disparity, however, there’s more. When I speak to students, family, and community members who may be interested in medicine I’ve found these 3 major limitations that prevent Black students from applying to medical school:
Fear - People are scared. The idea of being in school for 8 years followed by an additional 3-6 years (depending on what you specialize in) in Residency training and accruing 6-figure debt is intimidating. Indeed, this takes so much hard work and seems impossible.
Imposter Syndrome - Let’s face it. Head on. Take some deep breaths… When family in your bloodline has historically been the property of another race, and treated as inferior objects shipped around and stripped of their identity and humanity followed by your great-grandmother and such not being allowed to enter the same entrances or drink from the same water fountain as others and excluded from nearly all institutions— this has a toll on you, present day. Many minority Black students are not applying to higher educational positions such as medical school because they feel inherently that they do not belong there. We feel a sense of being out of place in a profession that we have not earned (even as practicing clinicians), let alone as potential medical school students pursuing this career. This is a stark reality for many first-generation students from minority backgrounds.
Lack of resources - on top of the atrocities mentioned above, many students are not applying to medical school because of a lack of resources. Not just financially— many students lack mentorship (someone who looks like them to guide them) and accurate information on the process of applying to medical school altogether. These all can be limitations that are preventing strong, brilliant, capable, and thoughtful candidates from pursuing a career in medicine.
What if I told you it is possible to overcome all 3 of the major challenges and limitations mentioned above and there is help along the way? Would you believe me? Subscribe to this newsletter for such support and guidance. Also, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with these top 3 reasons students are not applying to medical school? Do share your reasons below
AAMC. 2018. Diversity in Medicine: Facts and Figures 2019. Retrieved 7/15/2024: https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/data/figure-18-percentage-all-active-physicians-race/ethnicity-2018
