According to MPR News, “last year, nearly 21,000 students graduated from medical schools in the United States. Only 160 of those new doctors — fewer than 1 percent — were Native American.”

Mary J. Owen, MD, director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health, spoke with MPR News about the need to boost the number of Native physicians and other care workers in Minnesota and across the country and the new effort launched by the University of Minnesota.

“I think if we can grow, if we can get more Native students from this area, through school, into practice, they’re more likely to serve and stay in this area,” Dr. Owen said. “We know that Native students like to go to school in areas closer to their homes.”

Duluth campus medical students Fred Blaisdell and Genevieve Bern also spoke about their experiences and desires to work with Native communities after graduation. 

Read the full MPR News story here >>