Minority Youth Encouraged To Enter Health Professions 

By Jody Vilschick


Closing the Gap, First Summit Packs the House • January/February 2003


The lack of Hispanics in the healthcare 

professions is the primary focus of 

¡ESCUCHA! (LISTEN!) a Latino 

student network in the Chicago area. Sponsored by the Hispanic Center for Excellence 

at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, the program was designed 

to bring students together with Latino role 

models, and aims to educate students about 

health care issues in the Latino community. 

Established in 1992 as a support mechanism for Latino students (although it accepts 

any student who wishes to become a member, regardless of ethnicity or heritage), 

¡ESCUCHA! is a network of 900 high 

school, undergraduate, and medical students. 

Members attend public and private high 

schools, colleges and universities such as DePaul, Loyola, Northeastern Illinois, and medical schools of the University of Illinois and 

the University of Illinois at Chicago.

 ¡ESCUCHA! offers opportunities for 

established Latino health care professionals 

to mentor Latino students, and that is one of 

the most beneficial aspects of the program, 

said Pilar Bautista, assistant director of the 

Hispanic Center for Excellence. “It exposes 

member students to various physicians, specialties, and other medical students,” she said. 

“It also creates a strong alliance of Latino students interested in medicine that offers a valuable support network. The early exposure 

also encourages students to pursue medical 

careers.” 

The ¡ESCUCHA! student network 

meets on Saturdays, six times a year, at the 

University of Illinois at Chicago College of 

Medicine. Each meeting is divided into three 

parts: the first is information that the Hispanic Center of Excellence shares with students; the second includes a featured guest 

speaker who addresses health issues related to 

Latinos; and the third lets students share information about ongoing activities at their 

schools. ¡ESCUCHA! members also attend 

workshops, seminars, and other events that 

promote student academic needs and interests. 

“Through the network, we provide students with the resources they need to successfully enter and complete a medical education. As a group, we share the vision of 

reducing the number of preventable illnesses 

among the Latino community, as well as increasing the number of Latino physicians in 

the community,” Bautista said. “As such, we 

will continue to address the concerns of our 

communities on the health issues and policies that affect us.” 

Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds of Medical Students—Total Enrollment 2001-2002 

Men (#) Women (#) Total Number/Percent 

African American 1,793 3,119 4,912(7.4) 

Native American** 269 251 520(0.8) 

Mexican American 938 770 1,708(2.6) 

Puerto Rican (Other) 401 393 794(1.2) 

Puerto Rican (Mainland) 215 209 424(0.6) 

Other Hispanic 737 590 1,327(2.0) 

Asian/Pacific Islander 7,127 5,945 13,072(19.7) 

All other students* 24,479 18,983 43,462(65.6) 

Total 35,959(54.3%) 30,260 (45.7%) 66,219(100%) 

At first the difficulty was recruiting 

Latino faculty members and community representatives in health care, Bautista remembered. “They were already pulled in a number of different directions that it was hard to 

get them to clear space in their already tight 

schedules,” she said. “But as ¡ESCUCHA! 

caught on with students, it became easier to 

recruit them to speak at meetings and become active mentors.” 

What’s Working in Indian Country 

The Association of American Indian 

Physicians’ (AAIP) mentoring and shadowing program, the National Native American 

Youth Initiative, serves Native American high 

school and university students who may wish 

to enter the health care field. 

“We need Indian health professionals 

because we have the lowest percentage of minority entrants entering the medical field,” 

said Carla Guy, coordinator for the National 

Native American Youth Initiative. 

Indeed, the numbers aren’t good. Native Americans continue to be the most underrepresented of minority groups in medicine. According to data published by the Association of American Medical Colleges, of 

the 66,253 students enrolled in U.S. medical schools in 2001, only 516 were American 

Indian. Only 103 or 0.6 percent of the 

15,778 graduates of U.S. medical schools in 

2001 were American Indian. 

Native American health professionals are 

essential because they understand the needs 

of Native American people, according to Guy. 

“Non-Indian physicians are less likely to understand the culture and to really know their 

patient, therefore resulting in inadequate 

health care,” she said. “A lot of elders do not 

speak English and are not comfortable being 

in a clinical or hospital setting. If they are 

seen by a Native physician, they would be 

more comfortable and more likely to continue to seek medical treatment.” 

*All other students includes white students (not of Hispanic origin), international students, and students The National Native American 

of unknown race and ethnic backgrounds. **Includes Native American, Native Alaskan, and Youth Initiative brings 50 Native Native Hawaiian. Source: Barzansky, B, & Etzel, SI. Educational programs in US medical schools, American high school students to 2001-2002. JAMA. 2002;288:1067-1072. 

continued on page 2>>>> 

Office of Minority Health Resource Center 1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
Minority Youth Encouraged To Enter Health Professions 

By Jody Vilschick


Closing the Gap, First Summit Packs the House • January/February 2003


Washington, D.C., for 10 days each summer. “They learned so much 

about what is available to them, about financial aide, scholarships, 

different programs in different agencies,” Guy said. While they’re in 

the nation’s capital, they meet with representatives from the National 

Institutes of Health, the Indian Health Service, the National Naval 

Medical Center, the Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences, the HHS Office of Minority of Health, and more. 

“The program motivates them to stay in school and continue on 

in a health field,” Guy said. “The biggest challenge is finding the 

students, and letting them know this program exists.” 

AAIP is also associated with another program: the Center of 

American Indian and Minority Health (CAIMH), which was established in 1987 at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and later expanded to include an office on the UM-Twin Cities Campus. 

The CAIMH’s mission is to raise the health status of the Native 

Americans by educating Native American students in the field of 

health care and Indian health. CAIMH encourages Native American 

students to return to their communities to deliver culturally sensitive 

health care to their own people. 

To help students, the CAIMH has created the Indian Health 

Pathway (IHP), a program designed to provide students with academic support and individualized assistance as they move through all 

levels of the educational system, from kindergarten through health 

professions school. Through one-on-one counseling, enrichment programs, and academic and cultural support, the CAIMH helps students make decisions and choices along their pathway to becoming a 

health professional. 

For more information on the ESCUCHA! program, contact Pilar 

Bautista via e-mail at pilarb@uic.edu or go to http://www.uic.edu/depts/ 

mcam/hcoe/escucha.html on the Web.

For more information on programs for American Indian youth, contact the Association of American Indian Physicians at 405-946-7072 

or on the Web at http://www.aaip.com

Minority Youth Encouraged To Enter Health Professions is based on the Summit workshop


Calling All Role Models: The Importance of Mentors and Role Models on Minority Youth, Thursday, July 11, 2002.


Office of Minority Health Resource Center 2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services