EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Prepared by Institute of Medicine

The underrepresentation of minorities in the health and other professions has long cast a shadow over our nation\u27s efforts to develop a more representative and productive society. Many laudable and durable programs nave been developed over the past 20 years to enlarge the presence of minorities in health careers, but these efforts have been unable to develop the infrastructure and momentum to produce and sustain an adequate number of minority professionals among the ranks of America\u27s clinicians, researchers, and teachers. While there has been an increase in the numbers of African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans enrolled in professional schools during the past decade, this increase remains well below their representation in the population. Minorities in the health professions are more underrepresented today than 15 years ago