Minorities in Medicine

there are plenty of AA threads that touch on this subject. if you use the search button and type in AA you will find them.

Cubans are not underrepresented minorities because there are so many Cuban doctors, particularly in Miami/South Florida. Get good grades, high MCAT scores, do your med volunteering, get good LORs and play up your bilingual abilities and you'll be given a fair shake. It wouldn't hurt to get certified as a medical interpreter (not hard to do if you can speak the language). Some hospitals will do it for you if you volunteer there. They are really desperate for people who speak Spanish. Good luck.

Originally posted by SpongeBobby
Hey, I'm hispanic and a future Med School Hopeful. Unfortunately, I don't fall into the category of "Underrepresented" hispanics (only Mexicans & Puerto Ricans are considered) in medicine; I'm Cuban (3rd Largest Hispanic group in U.S.). Does this mean I'm not going to get even a slight hook?

Also, why are Cubans considered "well off" and not given affirmative action? Is it because of the America's negative feelings toward the country?

Thanks

Click to expand...

i posted this somewhere on another thread...


The AAMC has been using the term "URM" since the 70s. The URM classification describes AfAm, MexAm, mainlaind PR, and Native american. In JAMA (3/5/03), Dr. Cohen the president of the AAMC says that "the term recognized that these 4 minority groups had been barred HISTORICALLY from entering the medical profession by flagrant discriminatory practices." He then goes on to mention that there are other minority groups underrepresented in medicine. The term has never been used to describe "immigration patterns", or the demographics of "hispanics"

Ultimately, schools determine their own admissions policies in regards to URM, but for the sake of the AAMC and federal programs, and monies, they use the STRICT AAMC definition - so Cubanos would not fall in that category. I don't think it's a political stance against the island and it's people.

Don't let your ethnicity be "your hook" but your outstanding academic performance. Depending on where you apply, ethnicity would not even be mentioned or considered.