Healthcare professions are turning to grassroots tactics to increase diversity. Here's how
Rashadah Jordan didn’t have anyone to guide her on her path to becoming a physician assistant. Her mother was a licensed practical nurse, but she was balancing 12-hour shifts with being a single mom. No one else in her family was in medicine.
Her only point of reference was a YouTube influencer known as the PA Coach, and a PA she met in 8th grade through a program designed to introduce students to healthcare careers.
Now she wants to be that resource for others. She’s currently one of 20 PAs who’ve been participating in a new mentorship program from the American Academy of Physician Associates that's focused on engaging students from underrepresented communities. And on a recent Saturday, Jordan sat down with two students at a Chili’s in North Carolina to talk about a PA career and how to get started.
“I graduated in 2018; I started mentoring in 2019,” said Jordan, whose specialty is psychiatry. “I got into it because I remember applying to PA school and I had no one to talk to. I wanted to pay it forward.”
The AAPA launched its PAthways program last April as a way to increase diversity in the profession. The program aims to spur interest in the field among college freshmen and sophomores as well as mentor seniors and recent graduates who are navigating the application process. 辉瑞 provided funding for the initiative through its Communities in Action for Health Equity grant program.???
Thirty-two mentees are currently participating in the program.
“Having a mentor, to me, is somebody who has gotten to the pinnacle I want to reach,” Jordan said, “and they turn around and they help me pave my way through all the weeds and make it clear for me to be successful.”
Diversity in healthcare is a public health issue.
Numerous studies have shown the impact of having a diverse clinician workforce — not only on improving patient outcomes but also financial results. Patients also value having a clinician who can relate to them. In a 2023 survey from The Harris Poll , two-thirds of Black and Asian respondents, and 62% of Latino respondents, said they felt more comfortable with a provider who shares their background.?
Yet it’s been almost two years since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the use of race-conscious admissions, also known as affirmative action, to increase the number of underrepresented students in higher education. Early data shows that the effect has varied by school, with some elite universities showing sharp declines in the number of incoming students identifying as Black while others showing no change.
A paper last month in the Annals of Family Medicine offered some guidance on how to keep up the momentum — and specifically called out enrichment programs like mentoring, coaching and shadowing as a way to foster interest in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.?
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The PA workforce is nearly 80% white, according to 2023 data from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) . Black PAs make up only 3.4% of the profession, even though 13.7% of the U.S. population identifies as Black. That number has been flat since 2019.
Tamera Robinson, a recent graduate of Fayetteville State University , decided to pursue a PA degree after wavering between nursing and medical school. She thought she’d prefer medicine, but the long, drawn out process of becoming a doctor was unappealing. The decision point came after she attended an information session at nearby Methodist University, which has a PA program.?
She’s now working as a nursing aide in an intensive care unit, and Jordan is coaching her through the process of applying to PA programs.?
Like Jordan, she didn’t have anyone in her family in the medical field to turn to. The mentoring sessions, she said, have been keeping her on track and demystifying the process.?
While the PA profession has made slow progress in attracting students of color, the number of resources has been increasing, Jordan noted, pointing to groups like the The National Society of Black Physician Assistants .
And then there’s social media, which can be a mixed bag — attracting PA hopefuls but sometimes putting an unrealistic filter on the field.
Some students set their sights on a PA career without doing much research, Jordan said, while others put immense pressure on themselves to keep up with others.??
“It’s foreign in their mind that your journey is your journey and whenever you get there is when you get there,” she said. “And just because you apply twice doesn't mean you're a failure. PA school is very competitive.”
Still, social media has offered an unprecedented window into the profession, Robinson noted — and mentorship can come in many forms.?
?“People are much friendlier than you think and much more open minded to helping out if you need a hand on the process of PA school,” she said, adding that she’s talked to PA students from around the country. “Do communicate and reach out. It is the best thing that you can do.”
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2 周The hospital I worked in for 35 years was initially 98% white. When I retired it was 90% black. That was approximately 5 years ago. I think we’ve reversed healthcare already. Everywhere I go for healthcare services it’s more than diverse. Actually if it’s all black then it’s NOT diverse we went too far the other way. Please stop this call for diversity it’s gone too far. Only minorities here get scholarships for the last 20 plus years. I know whites who said their whole nursing class was not paying for their education and they all wondered why he had to drop out because they weren’t paying. They were all of color and he was white. Then my coworker informed me that at the local college someone called him into a room and said I’ll get you money for college here and bring all your friends of color! Whites are the only ones left out for decades now. Then another Hispanic coworker told me he and his college roommates had so much college free money that they ate out ate different steak houses every night. I had NO money to eat unless I worked! If anything is racist now it’s had been and it against the white population!
Clinical Social Worker
2 周These Facts bear repeating on the topic of the PA profession. For those seeking First to Understand: “The PA workforce is nearly 80% white, according to 2023 data from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Black PAs make up only 3.4% of the profession, even though 13.7% of the U.S. population identifies as Black. That number has been flat since 2019.”
NOVELIST, ADVERTORIAL WRITER & THESIS BOOSTER, CITIZEN JOURNALIST
2 周Health care is a noble profession and socially respected job. In fact, it is not a job but service to humanity that is service to God! However, it is quite unfortunate that this profession has drifted from service to a paid service which if understood that nothing is free in this world, however no attention or least attention is paid to those who cannot afford medical services. They simply prefer to die than to go to any health facility and not to be entertained for want of money! In a country with the absence of social securities, to get the health card also is being played around political undertones. Insurance agencies too, are asking many justifications if claim is applied and compensation asked for. Like hospitality, hospital too, is the prerogative of the opulent.
Physician Associate. Doctorate. Consultant. Family Practice. PA and NP prescribing. Adjunct Faculty, Doctoral Postgraduate PA Program, Lynchburg University
2 周As a long time, P.A. I give credit to anyone who is trying to move people towards our profession. In some communities, even when we’re heard of, we are unheard of. The word assistant is a word that has never resonated with our profession, and some people won’t even try to look at the profession because they don’t want to be someone’s helper, they want to be the someone who is helped. The problem is P.A.‘s are in almost all respects autonomous medical providers. The profession itself can sometimes be a hurdle to try to get people who would normally entertain becoming professionals who diagnose, treat and prescribe. It will be harder in the future for people to be accepted into P.A. educational programs as we get more and more excepted, so we must do things like the above and reach out and invite people to come into our tent and at least have lunch with us.
Holistic Health and Wellness Expert helping the world "get HEALTHY"
2 周Diversity in health professions is ESSENTIAL. It boosts interdisciplinary teamwork. It helps patients feel more comfortable receiving treatment from providers that are representatives of their culture.The benefits are numerous!