Representation matters in medicine––not just on principle, but because communities are healthier when their healthcare providers represent a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. Here are a few ways a diverse medical workforce contributes to better outcomes.
A diverse physician workforce can improve patient health outcomes.
All physicians and advanced practice providers are responsible for treating the patient in front of them, regardless of their race or ethnicity. But there is strong evidence that patients do better when they have access to a physician who can understand and relate to their background.
Building a diverse healthcare workforce helps ensure that patients have access to someone who understands their perspective and experiences––which can help improve adherence to treatment plans, and increase overall patient satisfaction. Increasing representation across the field helps ensure better care for more patients.
But the current physician workforce doesn’t yet reflect that reality. The 2023 Association of American Medical Colleges data reported that 56.3% of physicians are white, 19.3% are Asian, but only 5.2% and 6.5% of physicians are Black or Latino (compared to 12.1% Black population in the U.S., and an 18.7% Latino population).
This is especially significant because diversity isn’t just important for patient comfort: it can also make a difference in patient health outcomes. For example, studies show that an increase in Black physicians is associated with higher life expectancy for Black patients.
At a time when we are already suffering from physician shortages, it’s important that we reduce barriers to entry across the board––especially for physicians that are already underrepresented––so we can build a workforce that reflects our nation’s patient population.
A diverse workforce can help improve patient communication.
A diverse workforce is highly important when it comes to being able to communicate effectively with patients––especially when it comes to language accessibility. Around 25 million Americans speak limited English. And while patients do have a legal right to translation services, the reality is sometimes very different: studies estimate that only 64% of hospitals offer translation services, with many relying on patients’ family members or going without translation altogether.
Finding physicians and advanced practice providers that are proficient in languages other than English can help ensure that patients are able to fully explain their symptoms, and understand the treatment options that are available to them. At Hayes Locums, we receive requests from hospitals across the country for physicians who speak languages other than English. Having a more diverse workforce means that we can more easily send multi-lingual physicians to areas with large non-English-speaking populations, but limited access to physicians or APPs who can communicate in those languages.
The more diverse our medical workforce is, the easier it is for hospitals to find physicians who speak a variety of languages––which can in turn help improve those patients’ outcomes.
Investing in diversity can help inspire more representation in future healthcare providers.
Representation matters. If students don’t see physicians or advanced practice providers who look like them, they’re less likely to consider medicine as a career. On the other hand, the more representative our healthcare workforce is, the easier it is to continue recruiting new physicians and advanced practice providers of all different backgrounds.
That experience played out directly in the career of locums urologist Dr. Fenwa Milhouse.
“I didn’t have any inclination that there was any room for a woman to become a urologist, certainly not a Black woman,” Dr. Milhouse said. “I didn’t see myself as a surgeon either, because I didn’t have representations of diversity in these specialties at all. But then, in medical school, I was amazed and starstruck [to meet] a Black woman who was a urologist. Through shadowing her, I learned about how fun and cool urologists really are. And I thought, this is what I want to do with my life.”
As physician shortages continue to increase, it’s important that we continue to reduce barriers for physicians of all backgrounds. By increasing representation among physicians and APPs, we not only expand our workforce––we clear a path for future healthcare providers.
