AAMC, NMA Announce Innovation Grants to Address Shortage of Black Men in Medicine

The Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine – an initiative of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the National Medical Association – is launching the Illinois Black Men in Medicine Innovation Grant. The grant program aims to foster diversity and inclusion in the medical field and address the critical shortage of Black male physicians. It is co-sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois’ Institute for Physician Diversity®. The organizations are fielding proposals for up to five grants.

A 2019 report showed that between 2007-2015, the percentage of Black male applicants and matriculants from Chicago-area medical schools was below 3%, with only a minimal increase since that time. According to AAMC data, during the 2023-2024 academic year, the national percentage of Black or African American males applying to medical school was 2.7% while only 2.9% matriculated – a number that has remained relatively stagnant since 1978 despite an overall increase in the number of Black male college graduates.

“This joint effort demonstrates the commitment of higher education and the health care communities to increasing physician workforce diversity and improving patient outcomes,” said David Acosta, MD, AAMC chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Outcomes from the innovation grant programs will serve as a template for wider action across Illinois and a blueprint for advancing physician diversity across the country.

“As a practicing physician and health equity advocate in our state for many years, I've seen the impact and need for a diverse medical workforce in our communities first-hand. I am thrilled that Illinois is positioning itself as a leader in addressing the underrepresentation of Black men in medicine,” said Niva Lubin-Johnson, MD, Action Collaborative Organizing Committee member and past president of the NMA.

Applications will be accepted through April 30. Consideration will be given to Illinois-based applicants who demonstrate creative solutions with potential for long-term impact to increase the representation of Black men in medicine. For more information about the innovation grants and the Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine, please visit https://www.aamc.org/actioncollabforbmim.

The National Medical Association (NMA) is the collective voice of African American physicians and the leading force for parity and justice in medicine. The NMA is the oldest organization of African American professionals in America representing African American physicians and the patients they serve in the United States and its territories. For more information about the NMA, visit "www.nmanet.org.

The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) is a nonprofit association dedicated to improving the health of people everywhere through medical education, health care, medical research, and community collaborations. Its members are all 158 U.S. medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; 13 accredited Canadian medical schools; approximately 400 academic health systems and teaching hospitals, including Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 70 academic societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC leads and serves America’s medical schools, academic health systems and teaching hospitals, and the millions of individuals across academic medicine, including more than 193,000 full-time faculty members, 96,000 medical students, 153,000 resident physicians, and 60,000 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. Following a 2022 merger, the Alliance of Academic Health Centers and the Alliance of Academic Health Centers International broadened participation in the AAMC by U.S. and international academic health centers.

Ross University School of Medicine and Tuskegee University Partner to Address Physician Diversity in the U.S.

L-R: Roberta Troy, Ph.D., Provost, Tuskegee University; Lily McNair, Ph.D., President, Tuskegee University; Lisa W.
Wardell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Adtalem Global Education; William F. Owen, M.D., FACP, Dean and Chancellor, Ross University School of Medicine. 

TUSKEGEE, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The United States is facing a critical absence of diversity in medicine, and the disproportionately low numbers of African-American doctors is causing negative health outcomes in communities across the country. Reflecting its commitment to improve diversity among the nation’s doctors, Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) has entered into an agreement with Tuskegee University in Alabama to increase the number of African-American students who enter medical school at RUSM, and ultimately become physicians. This educational pathway allows qualified Tuskegee students who earn full acceptance into the medical school to receive a scholarship covering full tuition for the first semester. These students will spend the first two years of medical school at the RUSM campus in Barbados.

RUSM has a diverse student population with 51 percent of students being persons of color. With more than 14,000 alumni, RUSM graduates practice in direct patient care in all 50 states, including a high percentage of graduates who are in the essential field of primary care. African Americans make up only six percent1 of U.S. physicians. While most U.S. medical schools had an average of eight African-American graduates this past year, RUSM had more than 80.

“Significantly greater representation in medicine is imperative to the health of our communities and our nation, and RUSM’s unique impact and portable lessons on medical school diversity promise to reduce health disparities,” said RUSM Dean and Chancellor, Dr. William F. Owen, Jr., M.D., FACP. “We are pleased to partner with Tuskegee University. By increasing the participation of underrepresented Americans in health education we promulgate an opportunity to share in social justice for health.”

“This is an exciting partnership that I expect will yield tremendous dividends for everyone involved — especially for Tuskegee University’s students, whose broadening professional opportunities will also mean a more diverse medical workforce,” said Tuskegee University President Dr. Lily D. McNair. “I look forward to the wonderful opportunities for our students and our university, as Tuskegee gains a valuable academic partner.”

“The Alabama Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs applauds Tuskegee University and Ross University School of Medicine for tackling the long-standing lack of diversity in medicine. The adverse effects stemming from a lack of access to care and the pervasiveness of health inequality have long been felt, not only across Alabama, but nationwide,” said Nichelle Williams Nix, Director of Alabama’s Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs, which works with Tuskegee and the state’s other HBCUs to enhance their collective impact on Alabama’s economic and workforce development success.

RUSM recently announced similar agreements with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science. As part of its continued commitment to addressing diversity in medicine, RUSM’s parent company, Adtalem Global Education (NYSE: ATGE), signed on to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Partnership Challenge created by the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus, pledging to invest in creating strategic collaborations with HBCUs and working to increase diversity in key workforce sectors.

Having recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, RUSM is part of Adtalem Global Education’s medical and healthcare education vertical, which also includes American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in Sint Maarten, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in St. Kitts, and Chamberlain University, the largest provider of nursing education in the United States. Adtalem is a mission-driven educator and workforce solutions provider with institutions and companies around the world, including the U.S., Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Brazil.

About Tuskegee University

Located in Tuskegee, Alabama, Tuskegee University is a private, state-related and nationally ranked land-grant institution that serves a racially, ethnically and religiously diverse student body of 3,000-plus students. The institution was founded in 1881 by Booker T. Washington and is one of the nation's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges since 1933, Tuskegee’s academic programs — many accredited by their respective accrediting bodies — currently lead to 41 bachelor’s, 16 master’s and five doctoral degree opportunities. For more information about Tuskegee University, visit www.tuskegee.edu.

About Ross University School of Medicine

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) is an institution of Adtalem Global Education (NYSE: ATGE), a global education provider headquartered in the United States. The organization's purpose is to empower students to achieve their goals, find success and make inspiring contributions to our global community. Founded in 1978 and located in Barbados, RUSM has more than 14,000 alumni and is committed to educating a diverse group of skilled physicians. RUSM is accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions (CAAM-HP). For more information, please visit medical.rossu.edu and follow RUSM on Twitter (@RossMedSchool), Instagram (@rossmedschool) and Facebook (@RossMedSchool).

About Adtalem Global Education

The purpose of Adtalem Global Education is to empower students to achieve their goals, find success, and make inspiring contributions to our global community. Adtalem Global Education Inc. (NYSE: ATGE; member S&P MidCap 400 Index) is a leading global education provider and the parent organization of Adtalem Educacional do Brasil (IBMEC, Damásio and Wyden institutions), American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, Becker Professional Education, Chamberlain University, EduPristine, Ross University School of Medicine and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. For more information, please visit adtalem.com and follow us on Twitter (@adtalemglobal) and LinkedIn.

Black doctors urge President Obama to ban menthol cigarettes

African-American doctors are calling on President Barack Obama to ban sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes, which government data show are heavily preferred among black smokers.

The African-American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, a nonprofit anti-smoking advocacy group, launched a public campaign this week asking Obama to direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to remove all so-called mentholated tobacco products from the marketplace.

The FDA found in 2013 that menthol cigarettes likely pose a greater public health risk than regular cigarettes, especially among African-Americans, but it stopped short of recommending a ban.

Read more: Black Doctors Call on Obama to Ban Menthol Tobacco Products

Black Women in Medicine Documentary Coming Soon!

Black Women in Medicine honors Black women doctors around the country who work diligently in all facets of medicine. In telling the stories of women who have persevered in medical fields in part by overcoming barriers linked to race and gender, the film provides audiences with under-represented visions of success and fuel for self-actualization. 

Why Now?

Approximately one in four persons currently living in the U.S. is Black, and the number is steadily increasing. By contrast, Blacks represent only 4% of the physician workforce under 40. The percentage of female minority doctors is even smaller. As minority doctors are more likely to provide care to minority, underserved, and disadvantaged communities, their under-representation is a problem with potentially fatal consequences. Barriers separating youth of color from careers in medicine must be addressed if we are to foster a medical workforce that better reflects the diversity of the society it serves.

Black Women in Medicine amplifies the stories of trailblazing women and brings them within reach of those who most need to hear them. As we follow these stories, we journey through America’s sociopolitical evolutions concerning gender equality and cultural diversification of professions. These narratives tell stories of excellence and perseverance that engage, inspire and motivate, planting seeds of aspiration in the minds of future doctors.  Black Women in Medicine Airs on American Public Television Fall 2016!

Decline in Black Male Physicians Could Impact African American Health

his op-ed post was written by Patricia A. Maryland, Ph.D.

A recent study by the Association of American Medical Colleges shows that the number of African American men applying to medical school is in steady decline. As the nation’s population becomes more ethnically diverse, this issue is not just about diversity for diversity’s sake. This decline in black male physicians could have a negative impact on health and wellness in underserved communities as well as on general access to care.

As the chief operating officer of Ascension Health—the healthcare subsidiary of Ascension, the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system—I am very focused on our organization’s delivering personalized and compassionate care, particularly in low- to moderate-income communities where healthcare challenges are greatest. Physicians of color, who can knowledgeably treat patients based on a shared heritage and cultural awareness, are at a premium.

To be clear, the issue here is not race as much as it is personal affinity that provides a sense of understanding for a patient. In fact, whether the commonality is culture, race, language, or gender, research shows that patients respond to physicians with whom they feel a kinship.

This notion of affinity or kinship is important as studies show that black doctors are usually more willing to return to underserved communities of color to offer care. This not only provides them with a sense of mission and higher purpose, it also contributes to the overall well-being of the patients they serve. These patients are more comfortable with the doctor because they believe that the person caring for them shares a cultural bond. This allows for ease in building trust and, hopefully, greater candor in discussing ailments which may allow the doctor to better assess and treat a patient.

Read more; Decline in Black Male Physicians Could Impact African American Health