News
Beebe Promotes Heathcare Careers to Minority Students
05/04/05
During National Nurses Week, nurses at Beebe Medical Center visited Cape Henlopen High School to recruit minority youth into medical professions.
Vice President of Patient Care Services Marge White, PhD, RN, and Noah Piper, RN, explained the benefits of selecting nursing as a career. They also discussed the training and education that is required to become a nurse, and the wide availability of scholarships and other funding sources to pay for college.
Most racial and ethnic minorities are under-represented within the health professions. For example, just 10 percent of physicians, 8 percent of dentists, and 13 percent of registered nurses are African American, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hawaiian Native, or Pacific Islander. The U.S. population, on the other hand, is 29 percent minority and expected to grow to 41 percent by 2030, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The students' response to the visit was so positive that a series of meetings with more students is being planned by the Beebe Medical Center's Minority Health Outreach Committee in order to encourage them to enter any one of the many medical fields.
Encouraging minority youth to enter the health profession is one goal of Beebe Medical Center's Minority Health Outreach Committee, of which both Dr. White and Mr. Piper are members. This committee began meeting in the summer of 2004 with an ultimate goal of eliminating health disparities in the minority population in Beebe's service area. Those interested in learning more about this committee may contact Kay Malone, RN, in the Community Health Department at Beebe Medical Center at 645-3100, ext. 5139.
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