ASU Graduate gets White House Appointment
Document Actions
Domino Effect Keeps Minorities Out of Health Care Professions
After struggling with poor fundamentals, a majority of high school students opt out of math and science courses beyond the required basics. College students do not matriculate into science, technology, engineering or math-related fields, and as a result, fewer professionals are entering the workforce as scientists, health care providers and other science or math-related professions.
According to the report "Meeting the Challenge: Are students prepared to meet California’s health care needs? A Review of CST Scores of Seven California School Districts" (Philliber Research Associates, 2009), high school seniors scored below the national average level in math and science proficiency, subjects that are the core curriculum in training for careers in health.
The study found that students in the school districts of Fresno, Los Angeles, Oakland, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco, the state’s most populous geographic areas and those with the highest healthcare workforce needs, are ill-prepared to meet the demands and skills necessary for future career opportunities in the health care industry. Not only are we failing our students and California residents in general, we are squandering the opportunity to groom our diverse student population to become healthcare workers with the cultural and linguistic capabilities to work in underrepresented communities.
While Latinos represent 35.5 percent of California’s population, they only represent 5.2 percent of physicians, 5.7 percent of registered nurses, and 7.6 percent of psychologists. African Americans represent nearly six percent of California’s population, yet only 3.2 percent of physicians and 4.5 percent of registered nurses.
This underrepresentation of minorities in the medical profession starts early in life. The report highlights that a chain reaction beginning with poor fundamental knowledge in math and science at elementary and early secondary levels extends throughout a person’s educational life. After struggling with poor fundamentals, a majority of high school students opt out of math and science courses beyond the required basics. College students do not matriculate into science, technology, engineering or math-related fields, and as a result, fewer professionals are entering the workforce as scientists, health care providers and other science or math-related professions. This domino effect is a leading factor resulting in the current shortage of health care workers.