While 40% of California’s population is Latino, only 6% of physicians are estimated to be Latinos. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.
Dozens of physicians and medical students at UC Irvine School of Medicine took part in Latino Physician Day Tuesday, joining a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the lack of Latinos in medicine.
“Here in our state of California, approximately 40% of the population is Latino or identifies that way,” said Dr. Jose Mayorga, executive director for UCI Health Family Health Centers. “And only 6% of physicians identify as Latino.”
That disparity is expected to grow even bigger when California’s Latino population is projected to grow to 50% by the year 2050. That lack of representation contributes to significant health care barriers, inequalities and poorer outcomes in the Latino/Hispanic population, according to doctors.
"I find a lot of value in just being a student,” said Kevin Caceres, a second-year medical student. “Being the first in my family to go to college, first to go to medical school -- I did it a lot for them but also my community.”
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Trinidad Alcala-Arcos is also a medical student at UC Irvine. She is part of PRIME-LC, which stands for Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community, a 5-year MD/Master’s program at UCI committed to training physicians to meet the needs of under-resourced Latino communities.
“I’m proud to say I’m a DACA medical student,” said Alcala-Arcos. “We need more people who can look like our patients.”
For her, the goal of becoming a doctor is also deeply personal.
“My dad unfortunately passed away during the pandemic,” said Alcala-Arcos, “Every time I think of him, talk about him, it’s a reminder of why I’m here and what keeps me going.”
Her father’s death is also an important reminder of the bigger goal of National Latino Physician Day, which is to bring more Latinos into medicine so that the community has better access to health care.
“It’s important to be able to walk into a clinic or exam room and be seen by physician that looks like you, speaks your language, identifies with your cultural upbringing,” said Mayorga. “That makes a huge difference.”
