WHYY: What Will It Take to Diversify Medicine?

Who becomes a physician in this country — and who never gets that chance? It’s a question a lot of medical schools are grappling with, as groups like Black people and Latinos remain especially underrepresented among students. What would it take to attract and retain a more diverse group of students? On this episode, we hear stories about people’s path to med school, and the challenges they face along the way. We learn about a major push to increase diversity that happened in the 90s — and what happened to it; why some are rallying to do away with a tough entry exam applicants have to take; and the challenges of being the only person of color in your class. Jaya Aysola, the founder and executive director of Penn Medicine’s Center for Health Equity Advancement, says more diversity in med schools would bring positive change – but beyond that, the entire health care delivery system has to change as well.   Read and listen more at WHYY.