Black Men Remain Underrepresented in the Physician Assistant Profession

According to a new study from scholars at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, Black men are significantly underrepresented in the physician assistant and associate (PA) profession compared to their share of the United States population.

For their study, the authors examined data from the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants for PA training programs in the United States for the 2012-2013 and the 2020-2021 application cycles. Over this nine year period, applicants to PA programs grew by 64.3 percent.

Despite the overall increase in PA program applicants, the share of Black male applicants remained around 2.2 percent, and the share of Black men who matriculated into programs averaged 1.2 percent from 2012 to 2021. This is notably less than Black men’s 8.7 percent share of the United States population for individuals aged 20 to 29.

“This crisis demands a call to action, open discussions, and targeted strategic efforts to ensure equal opportunities for Black men,” the authors write. They offer several suggestions as to how this racial gap can be closed, including promoting the PA profession in Black communities, establishing mentorship programs for Black men interested in the field, implementing anti-bias training for admission faculty, and creating inclusive and diverse campus environments.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

Recent Books of Interest to African American Scholars

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view.

Nonwhite Patients Are Significantly More Likely to Have Preventative Care Insurance Claims Denied

Scholars from the University of Toronto have found non-White patients are nearly twice as likely as White patients to have an insurance claim denied. On average, they also pay more out-of-pocket costs when their claims are denied.

Leslie Rodriguez-McClellon Named Seventeenth President of Arkansas Baptist College

Prior to her new role, Dr. Rodriguez-McClellon was the vice president of community relations and governmental affairs at Saint Augustine's University in Raleigh. She has a robust background in higher education, including service as the first African American president of Rochester Community and Technical College in Minnesota.

Huge Enrollment Decline at Historically Black Tennessee State University

At historically Black Tennessee State University, overall enrollments are down by 23 percent. Most strikingly, enrollments of students in first-year programs are down by more than 50 percent.

Featured Jobs