Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS

Share of African American men going into medicine hits historic low

Diversity advocates seek strategies to correct alarming decrease.
  1. Giorgia Guglielmi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

Even as US diversity initiatives try to increase the representation of minority ethnic groups in science and medicine, the proportion of black men pursuing such careers is reaching historic lows. In 1986, 57% of African American medical-school graduates were men — but by 2015 that share had dropped to just 35%, even as the total number of black graduates had increased.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 557, 621-622 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05203-z

References

  1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. An American Crisis: The Growing Absence of Black Men in Medicine and Science (The National Academies Press, 2018); available at https://doi.org/10.17226/25130

  2. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration and Bureau of Health Professions. The Rationale for Diversity in the Health Professions: A Review of the Evidence (HHS, 2006); available at http://go.nature.com/2lzvslw

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

  • Postdoctoral Position

    We are seeking highly motivated and skilled candidates for postdoctoral fellow positions

    Boston, Massachusetts (US)

    Boston Children's Hospital (BCH)

  • Qiushi Chair Professor

    Distinguished scholars with notable achievements and extensive international influence.

    Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

    Zhejiang University

  • ZJU 100 Young Professor

    Promising young scholars who can independently establish and develop a research direction.

    Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

    Zhejiang University

  • Head of the Thrust of Robotics and Autonomous Systems

    Reporting to the Dean of Systems Hub, the Head of ROAS is an executive assuming overall responsibility for the academic, student, human resources...

    Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)

  • Head of Biology, Bio-island

    Head of Biology to lead the discovery biology group.

    Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    BeiGene Ltd.

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links