• Keyonna M King, Tatiana Tchouankam, Ron Shope, Regina Idoate, Martina Clarke, Dejun Su, and Patrik Johansson.
• University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, United States. Electronic address: Keyonna.king@unmc.edu.
• J Natl Med Assoc. 2023 Apr 1; 115 (2): 101118101-118.

AbstractThe purpose of our study is to examine the barriers and facilitators for urban African American students interested in pursuing health professions careers in the Midwest. In our analysis of the key informant interviews and focus groups, we identified four barriers (lack of preparation, lack of funding, lack of support/isolation, and perceived discrimination) and three facilitators (early preparation, support/mentorship, funding). We provide recommendations for how to leverage these facilitators and address the barriers to increase the representation of African Americans in the healthcare workforce. Novel future directions for this work should include comprehensive interventions tailored to URM students that span the health professions education pipeline and begin as early as elementary school. Interventions that engage mentors should take place at high school, undergraduate, and graduate health professions school levels.Copyright © 2023 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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