In the Nation's Compelling Interest ― Ensuring Diversity in the Health-Care Workforce

Completed by a committee established by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine to examine institutional and policy-level strategies for increasing the diversity of the U.S. health care workforce, this report assesses policy barriers to culturally competent caregivers and possible improvements. After reviewing the literature and conducting six workshops with interested parties, recommended: that medical educational institutions improve admissions policies by adopting clear mission statements valuing diversity; Congress increase funding for diversity programs; state and local identities increase loan forgiveness, tuition reimbursement, and similar programs designed to support diversity; the U.S. Department of Education should encourage accreditation bodies to be more aggressive in reformulating standards, and educational institution governing bodies develop institutional objectives consistent with community benefit principles that support the goal of increasing diversity. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)