Re: underrepresentation of underrepresented minorities in academic medicine.

摘要

As Chairpeople of the Underrepresented Minorities Committee for the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the American Society for Gastrointestinal En-doscopy (ASGE), we are grateful to Drs Merchant and Omary for this insightful article on the issues facing under-represented minorities in academic medicine. We all agree this is a wonderful time for gastroenterology. We have unprecedented technology and medications to help a variety of gastrointestinal disorders. Yet there remains a gap that we seem unable to fill to reach some of the neediest patients. In part, this gap is created by cultural differences that separate the physicians from their patients. As Drs Merchant and Omary highlighted, minority patients prefer to see doctors who are similar in race and ethnicity and possibly share their same language.