Three percent of California’s doctors are Black: We can do better

by Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Only 3% of doctors in California are Black, compared to about 5% nationwide.

The California Black Health Network (CBHN), Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) in Los Angeles and other health advocates are working to increase that percentage.

On Nov. 14, CBHN hosted its Health Equity Forum titled “Improving Workforce Development for Better Health Outcomes.” The organization — now 40-plus years in existence – refers to itself as “a trusted resource” for Black health equity in California. CBHN utilizes outreach, education, advocacy and policy work to complete its mission.

The forum is the fourth installment in a series of webinars called “The Health 4 Life: Healthy Black People Campaign.” The effort aims to empower Black Californians with the information and resources they need to navigate the healthcare system; advocate for friends, family and themselves; and take action when faced with discrimination

“Where there are Black doctors, we tend to see better health outcomes for Black communities,” said Rhonda Smith, executive director of CBHN.

“According to the California Healthcare Foundation, here in California, the state’s medical student education pipeline is not producing enough Black physicians,” Smith continued. “And, unfortunately, half of California’s Black medical students leave the state for residency programs and often don’t return. So, what can we do to ensure that there is a strong pipeline of healthcare professionals that look like the communities they will serve and that there’s a greater representation of Black physicians and healthcare professionals?”

The forum featured Dr. David M. Carlisle, MD, President of CDU. CDU is one of four Historically Black Medical Schools in the country, and the only one in the West. The session centered on how CDUs’ commitment to social justice and health equity prepares more Black and other minority doctors to serve across California while engaging and building trust with underserved and historically excluded communities.

“Our vision is excellent health and wellness for all in a world without health disparities,” said Carlisle. “Our point and why we’re here is to train young people from the communities around our university, which are significantly under-resourced and underserved, and turn them into practicing healthcare professionals. Many of whom will say, ‘I’ll return to the community I grew up in to make it a better place.”

CDU is ranked #3 in the country as a value-added university by the Brookings Institute for its efforts to take young people from challenging socioeconomic beginnings and turn them into highly effective members of their communities and standouts in their professions by the midpoint in their careers. The medical school says its goal in the short term is to increase enrollment to 1,000 undergraduates and 1,000 graduate students.

“Our medical students are very unusual. About two-thirds of them were Pell Grant recipients when they were in college,” said Carlisle. “

That is more than twice the national average among medical students. At least a third of them are first-generation students. That is more than twice the national average among medical students. If you stop one of our students on campus and ask them why they came to CDU, instead of going to a UCLA, USC, Stanford, or some other school,” he continued, “they will typically say, ‘I came to CDU because the mission at CDU aligns with my personal mission in trying to become a health professional. I can’t get that at any other school.’”

In 2022, there was a total of 260 African American, Latino, Indigenous and other underrepresented students combined in first-year medical school classes across the state of California. About 100 of those students were African American at that time.

Among all CDU’s medical students, about 31 were African American. That number contributed to an increase in the number of first-year African American medical students in the entire state by well over 20% in that first year.

Carlisle, who also sits on the board of the California Healthcare Foundation, noted in a recently published survey of Black Californians that trust is still a major issue when it comes to healthcare providers.

“Increasing diversity is one step that we make in the right direction. Sounds like there’s a lot more human kindness that happens with the individuals that go through our medical school program because they are able to better connect and relate to the individuals that they take care of,” he concluded.

California Black Media, serving California’s Black press, boasts a record of ensuring that the Black viewpoint remains central to all the debates that shape life in California. Edward Henderson and other members of the CBM staff can be reached at info@cablackmedia.org. 

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