After the Match: Cultivating a Community of Support, Retention, and Mentoring to Enhance Diversity

In 2004, the Association of American Medical Colleges defined underrepresented in medicine as “racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.1” The population of the United States is composed of 30% underrepresented minorities, but the current physician workforce identified as underrepresented minorities is <10%.2 Underrepresented minority physicians are more likely to practice in underserved areas and care for patients in their own ethnic groups who are on Medicaid, uninsured, and of poorer health status, thus offering the potential to impact health outcomes for underprivileged populations.