North American Primary Care Research Group annual meeting presentation
This year the North American Primary Care Research Group held its annual conference in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Cancun and the surrounding area were the very last of the provinces to join the nation of Mexico, and it is located in Mexico’s youngest state. The center was invited to present our collaborative work with the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Institute of Public Health on the role that Historically Black Colleges and Universities play in the representation of Black faculty and medical students in the United States. An analysis of 2013 shows that although HBCU medical schools represent less than 3 percent of medical schools, they are responsible for 14% of Black medical students, and 31% of Black chairs. In other words, less than a handful of the 126 medical schools analyzed produced more than 1/3 of all black chairs and 1/10 of all Black faculty. Considering the fact that these schools tend to be under-resourced, this is a call to action for the AAMC, the AMA and the LCME to take action. Medical school expansion is happening at a rapid pace (15 schools in 10 years, with more coming) but there are no plans to place one at an HBCU. Clearly HBCU medical schools have discovered how to increase Black faculty, students and chairs. It is now our opportunity to learn from them, or to form more of them. This will likely have the effect of increasing Black enrollment in medical school as well as Black faculty representation.
