Developing a Diverse Healthcare Workforce to Address Health Inequalities

African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos and American Indians together comprise less than 9% of nurses, 12% of physicians and 8% of dentists while they represent more than one-fourth of the US population. The lack of diversity among students choosing and being retained in the behavioral, clinical and biomedical sciences poses a challenge in the development of successful strategies for reducing health disparities, meeting the needs of the medically underserved and achieving the goals of Healthy People 2020.

Strategies aimed at diversifying the health professions “pipeline” have primarily focused on high school students and college juniors and seniors; yet, students from disadvantaged backgrounds overwhelmingly enter the post secondary education system through community colleges. Recognizing this diversity and potential, the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine developed the UniversityLink Medical Science Program (ULMSP) in 2001.

ULMSP is an academic enrichment program that prepares underserved and disadvantaged community college students to transfer to a four-year institution, to graduate with majors in the biomedical, behavioral and health sciences, and to compete successfully for entry into graduate and health professions schools. As of 2014, 156 students have completed the program; 98% of the students have transferred to a four-year university; 86% graduated from college; 85% have graduated with a degree in the sciences; and, 54% have entered a graduate program.

These outcomes demonstrate that a student development program that focuses on academic skills, mentoring, networking and understanding institutional culture can improve the rates of transfer, retention, graduation in the sciences, and entry into graduate and professional schools.