An American Crisis

Black men are increasingly underrepresented in medical schools and in the medical profession. A diverse workforce is a key attribute of quality healthcare and research suggests that a diverse workforce may help to advance cultural competency and increase access to high-quality health care, especially for underserved populations. Conversely, lack of diversity in the health workforce threatens health care quality and access and contributes to health disparities. In this way, the growing absence of Black men in medicine is especially troubling, because their absence in medicine may have adverse consequences for health care access, quality, and outcomes among Black Americans and Americans overall.



To better understand the factors that contribute to the low participation of Black men in the medical profession, facilitate discussion of current strategies used to increase their participation in medical education, and explore new strategies along the educational and professional pipeline that may have potential to increase participation in medicine, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Cobb Institute jointly convened a 2-day workshop in November 2017, in Washington, DC. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
1 Introduction
2 Keynote Presentations
3 Exploring the Challenges and Barriers for Black Men Along the Life Trajectory
4 Exploring the Challenges and Barriers for Black Men Along the Educational Trajectory
5 Current Innovative and Exploratory Strategies to Support Entry into Science and Medicine for Black Men
6 Reflections on Meeting Day 1
7 Accountability in Medicine: What Can Medical Schools Do to Address the Crisis?
8 Financial Barriers to Medical Education
9 Approaches from Philanthropy
10 Approaches from Government
11 Reflections on the Workshop and Final Thoughts
Appendix A: Workshop Agenda
Appendix B: Speaker Biographies