Racial Inequality in the United States Healthcare system and the disproportionality within the US Medical education system is alarming. The disparities within the health care system warrant concern, but it commences with the medical education system. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans together make up 25 percent of the U.S. population; however, only 6 percent of practicing doctors come from these groups. There is no reason African Americans account for over 13 percent of the United States population but less that 4% practicing within the medical system. Being mindful of this and many other statistics on minority affairs and healthcare, we are able to identify the reason that groups such as Student National Medical Association was created; to diversify medicine by trying to increase the minority populous matriculation to medical school.
Research done with the 2010 U.S. census projects indicates that by the year 2050, the minority population will become the majority. This may be of concern, since the minority population in comparison to its white counterparts is expected to have not only higher cases of comorbid diseases, but more likely to have less access to health care. This will not only put a strain on the population as a whole medically, but may be a financial burden to the economy. This is reason for concern. Due to this Student National Medical Association has made it a priority to help increase more minority physicians in the medical community. They essentially do this by providing pipeline programs such as Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) and opportunities for minorities which will allow them to have a more competitive edge in hopes of matriculating to medical school.
At FIU MAPS chapter, the main objective is to increase the rate of minority students matriculating to medical school. This objective is expected to be achieved through study groups to support academic enrichment, educational discussions with dialogue to provide critical thinking skills, and MCAT preparation. With the assistance of local SNMA chapters like UM Miller School of Medicine and Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, we attain mentoring opportunities from pioneers in an effort to accomplishing this goal. But that is not the only thing that they do. MAPS is deeply vested in community work, whether it is through aiding medical students in local health fairs in medically under-served areas in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, or volunteering their time and services to local orphanages. As future physicians, we believe in instilling the value of service to our fellow man. With that said, we host many forums to educate the FIU community on health issues such as smoking cessation, violence prevention, HIV/AIDS, diabetes prevention, and mental health awareness to name a few. The President of the MAPS Chapter of FIU, Jonathan Ryan Batson, with the help of his Vice President Natacha Rivera and the rest of the executive board, has also made certain that many of MAPS protocols are partnered with other on-campus organizations such as Latino Student Medical Association, the French Club, Black Student Union, and Premed AMSA to establish camaraderie and unity throughout FIU. Also, a key component to this chapter is that we have created a pipeline to assist and motivate more minority students to pursue the sciences in hopes of matriculating to medical school one day.
In essence FIU MAPS is not just a group whose sole purpose is just getting students into medical school, but, we are a family that instills values of leadership, good ethics, and community building which will hopefully transcend and help everyone in our communities; especially those that are medically and financially disenfranchised or underserved.
In order to meet the demands of the healthcare system of tomorrow, we need to create more opportunities today to implementchange within the medical education system. No dream is unattainable and no mountain is unreachable. We hope that our message can break barriers and create unity because at the end of the day, our initiatives are more than just for our agendas, but to benefit the Miami-Dade Communities as well. The only way we can effectively see change in our communities is if we take action to make it better. I urge all, regardless of your situation, background, or race, to do more to help become the change that we seek to make our world a better place.
Thank you and have a great and prosperous day.
Jonathan Ryan Batson
FIU MAPS Chapter President
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