Abstract
The infant mortality rate is as high as ever in the Black community; dental care is yet nil or almost non-existent for the vast majority of Black children; and hypertension continues to be a major problem in the Black community. Hence, even as we approach the 21st Century, healthcare in the Black community is yet, as the song stated in the movie, Casablanca, "it's still the same old story." There is seldom, if ever, a single solution to a catastrophic problem, but some kinds of solutions do stand out as logical and effective. Training Black physicians, who would be privileged to practice in their community, could contribute greatly to health awareness and healing in the Black community. Unequivocally, there is a definite need to increase the numbers of Blacks in the health professions, in as much as their underrepresentation in such fields is directly related to poor healthcare and services available to Black Americans. However, here again "it's still the same old story" in that the percentage of people of African descent in the health professions in the United States remains statistically and significantly low. Nevertheless, we continue to hear prestigious medical schools say, "We would love to increase our percentage of students of color, but we just can't find them, plus they are so poorly academically-prepared when they leave high school, as well as college."
Recommended Citation
Horton, Harold
(1995)
"Increasing the Number of Black Health Professionals: A Case of Commitment and Belief in Students,"
Trotter Review: Vol. 9:
Iss.
1, Article 13.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/trotter_review/vol9/iss1/13
