Diversity in med schools

I thought this article from Campus Progress (a Center for American Progress publication) was really interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I've been meaning to write about it since early May. First, it argues for affirmative action not as an issue of fairness but because diversity in the medical profession (and by extension, in many others) is in the public interest, and this is how:

One of the most important elements of comprehensive medical care is the relationship between a patient and his or her doctor, and research consistently
shows that this is an area where race and ethnicity have a significant, undeniable impact. Patients report higher measures of satisfaction and trust when their doctor is of the same race and ethnicity. One study found that race-concordant visits were longer on average and were characterized by more positive physician affect. In addition, minority physicians are more likely than white physicians to practice in geographic areas whose populations face multiple challenges to maintaining good health. The challenges that residents of these “underserved” areas typically face include poverty, lack of insurance, and shortages of physicians. Research has shown that access to health services for indigent populations is augmented by the presence
of minority physicians. And minority doctors report caring for more impoverished, uninsured and Medicaid-insured patients. For these reasons and others, it is clear that developing a diverse physician workforce would pay dividends across the health system, particularly given how many low-income and uninsured Americans lack needed care.

As I read this I am thinking of how the same dynamics apply to my own industry, the non-profit sector. In particular, it's interesting that financial risk seems to be the main reason non-whites stay away from careers in both medicine and non-profit work. For NGOs of course it's not so much a question of paying for school (though that can be a factor) as the lower salaries that non-profit employees can expect compared to their peers in the private sector.