“I knew the ones above us, below us,” Okonye says. “We all kind of know each other. It’s comforting to see another person that looks like you.”
While more black men graduated from college over the past few decades, the number of black men applying to medical school has dropped. In 1978, 1,410 black men applied to medical school and 542 ended up enrolling. In 2014, both those numbers were down – 1,337 applied and 515 enrolled.
Those figures come from a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Every other minority group – including Asians and Hispanics – saw growth in applicants. There was also an uptick in applications by black women.
Enrollment statistics for 2015 are just out and they show a modest gain of 8 percent more black men entering medical school over the year before.
“This is a positive sign,” says Marc Nivet, AAMC’s chief diversity officer, “but it does not change the fact that for 35 years the number has been trending poorly.”
“I was really surprised,” says Akpotaire, who is studying internal medicine. “I sent [the study] to my mom and dad immediately. You would think the conditions would be a lot different than they were in 1978.”
Diversity among doctors is important for patient health. People are more likely to follow doctors’ directions on things like medication or exercise if they can identify with them.
For years, Okorodudu has been trying to figure out why so few black men go into medicine. His conclusion: the lack of role models.
“If you’re a black male, let’s say you’re growing up in an inner-city neighborhood,” he says. “There’s so many things directly in front of you that you have the option to go into.”
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