Why It Matters
Our interest is grounded in a commitment to bring better alignment across key components of medical education so that, as a profession, we can more fully meet societal needs and the needs of our patients. Among these responsibilities is that of moving the profession toward provider representation that reflects the changing demography of our nation. There is a current mismatch between our stated goals of inclusion in the profession and our preparation of physicians to meet looming needs in areas of specialization (especially primary care and emergency care), the documented needs of traditionally under-served medical populations, and the way we select, recruit, and train medical students and residents. Research into the effect of educational diversity on health care delivery has previously focused on patient and provider attitudes with no connection to behavioral and health outcomes investigated. While exploring these connections incorporates several complex systems, we believe we are required to theorize, investigate and intervene in novel ways to find additional approaches to these persistent issues.
Our interest is grounded in a commitment to bring better alignment across key components of medical education so that, as a profession, we can more fully meet societal needs and the needs of our patients. Among these responsibilities is that of moving the profession toward provider representation that reflects the changing demography of our nation. There is a current mismatch between our stated goals of inclusion in the profession and our preparation of physicians to meet looming needs in areas of specialization (especially primary care and emergency care), the documented needs of traditionally under-served medical populations, and the way we select, recruit, and train medical students and residents. Research into the effect of educational diversity on health care delivery has previously focused on patient and provider attitudes with no connection to behavioral and health outcomes investigated. While exploring these connections incorporates several complex systems, we believe we are required to theorize, investigate and intervene in novel ways to find additional approaches to these persistent issues.