The significance of recruiting underrepresented minorities in medicine: an examination of the need for effective approaches used in admissions by higher education institutions

Figures & data

  Note: 1) White, Asian, Black, and Native American, are Non-Hispanic. Since 2002, individuals have the option of reporting both their race and ethnicity alone or in combination with some other race or ethnicity. In this figure, numbers are reported for race alone; 2) The data is adapted from by Castillo (2). *From 1974–2001, includes Mexican American, Puerto Rican, and Other Hispanic. Since 2002, includes Cuban, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Other Hispanic, and Multiple Hispanic. Source: AAMC Data Warehouse: Applicant Matriculant File, as of 1/26/2012.

  Note: 1) Those that reported more than one race are included under Non-Hispanic or more than One Latino Race; 2) The data is adapted from Castillo (2).

 Table 2. Medical school reported barries to underrepresented minority recruitment

Barrier	Percent listing as barrier at their institution (%)
Legal/policy/regulatory
Court decisions	33
State/local policies	19
State legislation limiting affirmative action	14
Educational
Low MCAT scores	90
Low undergraduate GPA	60
Poor preparation in sciences	55
Absence of high school science interest programs	46
Low educational achievement	40
Lower quality of schools previously attended	34
Lower level of academic achievement among parents	30
Poor communication skills	19
No participation in service-oriented extracurricular activities	17
Socio-cultural
Absence of role models	77
Lack of peer/community support	45
State/area population not diverse	37
Negative parental and cultural attitudes regarding careers	19
Financial/economic
Lack of financial aid	48
Parental income level	39
Difficulties in finding financial resources for your school's programs	28
No financial travel assistance to the required admission interview	27
High application fees	14
Housing issues	12
Recruitment/admission
Not enough minority faculty members	71
Other schools in the area targeting URM majoring in sciences	39
Absence of summer enrichment programs at your school	27
Race/ethnicity/gender composition of the admission committee	22
Absence of partnerships with private and public organizations	20
Lock of mentorship programs	20
Lack of career development outreach	16
No URM student recruiters	13
Complex application process	10
No pre-admission counseling and application assistance	7
Absence of an office of minority and/or multicultural affairs	7
No faculty member designated to address issues of concern from URM students	7

Note: The data is adapted from Agrawal et al. (3).

 (D) Table 1. Underrepresented minority student matriculants at University of Toledo College of Medicine, 1996–2006

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Blacks/African Americans	9	10	2	14	1	1	2	2	4	5	10
Hispanics (Mexicans included in this group)	3	2	8	6	2	3	2	1	1	1	4
Native Americans	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	2	2	0
Total URM	12	12	11	20	4	4	5	4	7	8	14
Total in class	135	134	135	139	140	143	151	154	135	145	145
% URM	8	9	8	14	3	5	3	2	5	5	9

Note: The data is adapted from Rumala and Cason (6).

 3 Cohorts average cognitive gains

	A	B	C	D
Physical science	6.30	1.18	7.40	1.35
Verbal reasoning	6.30	1.45	6.90	1.68
Biological sciences	6.80	1.59	8.00	1.63
Total	19.30	3.14	23.30	3.54
Writing sample	5.60	1.72	5.80	1.59

A – Mean; B – Standard Deviation; C – Mean; D – Standard Deviation.

Note: The data is adapted from Agbor-Baiyee (8).

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