When we seek medical
care, we want to be able to trust our providers and know they understand who we
are and our health care needs. When patients don’t see people like them, when
their providers have little understanding of the issues they face, they may
feel excluded or unable to get the care they seek.
Yet, despite efforts
like the Affordable Care Act, the health care disparities gap continues as does
the need for diversity in health care professions like dentistry. In 2016, only
15.2% of the applicants to dental school were from underrepresented minorities
(and 50.2% of those applicants were women).
What can make the
difference? You.
If you are someone who
is part of an underrepresented minority group and you have an interest in
dentistry, you can help contribute to a future where all patients receive the
same quality of care and understanding.
When dentists are men
and women from all types of backgrounds, when the profession includes a range
of ethnicities, it makes the care the profession provides better for everyone.
That’s why the need for underrepresented
minorities in dentistry matters.
Cultural Competency
Cultural Competency: A person’s ability to
understand and interact with people from cultures and backgrounds other than
their own.
Having a diverse
dental workforce does not mean that every patient needs to see a provider just
like him or her. It’s about cultural competence, the awareness and ability of
providers to respond to the sensibilities of patients whose cultures and values
may be very different from their own. The idea of cultural competency is
crucial when thinking about the makeup of a dental school class. It is
important to have a diverse group of students in each class to promote cultural
competency. When students work closely with their colleagues from different
backgrounds, they are more likely to understand them and therefore become
culturally competent practitioners.
If you are reading this and are from an
underrepresented minority group, we hope you will consider dentistry as a
career. In doing so, you may be able to bring smiles and good health to adults
and children in communities across the United States who currently face
disparities in health care.
You might be interested in...
Workforce Issues
View “Imagine A School Without Diversity: Challenges Faced In
Creating a 21st Century Diverse Dental Workforce,” a symposium from the 2009
ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition (member login required), along with other
resources.
The Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to
promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access,
improved quality and greater efficiency, particularly for society’s most
vulnerable populations, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority
Americans, young children and elderly adults.
The Sullivan Alliance
The Sullivan Alliance’s goal is to provide the focused
leadership, deep commitment and sustainable efforts that will result in the
addition to our nation’s workforce of more well-trained health professionals
from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. A more diverse workforce will
provide the nation with quality health care, break-through research, a
reduction in health disparities and greater economic vitality in the decades
ahead.
Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP)
The SHPEP program offers students a variety of
academic and career experiences that will support their health professions
career preparation.
International students
An international student? No problem! You are qualified to apply to most schools in the U.S. and Canada after demonstrating English language proficiency.
Foreign-educated dentists
Are you a foreign-educated dentist hoping to practice in the U.S.? Most states require a degree from a dental education program accredited by the ADA CODA.