Friends and Colleagues,
Last week I participated in a roundtable discussion organized by U.S. Rep. Dr. Joe Heck at Touro University. Faculty and administrators from all three Southern Nevada medical schools, the College of Southern Nevada, and Nevada State College gathered to discuss how we could close the health care access gap in Nevada. Congressman Heck discussed medical education legislation currently in Congress that would help Nevada and other states meet critical health care shortages and needs.
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Shelley Berkley, CEO and Senior Provost, Touro University, Congressman Joe Heck, and Dr. Ray Alden, Provost, Touro University
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A particular area of discussion was our community’s need for more Hispanic physicians. Hispanics now make up 29 percent of Clark County, African Americans 12 percent, Asians 12 percent, and Caucasians 41 percent — making the county a minority-majority population area. Hispanics are the fasting growing population. By 2020, it is estimated Hispanics could make up 35 percent of the population in Clark County.
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Our plan to recruit and retain a diverse class of students
A part of our mission is to recruit a diverse student body that reflects the demographics of this region and who will stay in Nevada to practice medicine. We’re going to accomplish this by taking these steps:
- Student outreach: We plan to visit Nevada’s universities, regional college campuses, and high schools to share our exciting educational programs with students. We want to let students know they can pursue their dream of becoming a doctor or other health care professional right here in Las Vegas.
- Affordable education: All 60 students in our charter class, and 25 each in the next three consecutive classes, will have scholarships to help cover their tuition.
- Cultural competence education: Students will learn the importance of cultural competency from the onset. They will learn how to understand cultures different from their own, their core beliefs, and how they perceive modern medicine. We will begin the discussion of cultural beliefs as our students earn their emergency medical technician (EMT) certification during their first six weeks of medical school.
- Medical Spanish and language interpretation services: During the first year, students will learn medical Spanish and how to use language interpretation services when caring for patients. Because there are many different cultures represented in Las Vegas, it is impossible for students to learn all the languages of the patients they will encounter. It’s important for students to learn the services available to help them understand their patients and families.
- Doctoring Courses: Students will learn how to perform a patient examination in an outpatient setting. We also will teach basic communication and interpersonal skills so students learn effective communication when cultural barriers may exist, understand how to recognize verbal and non-verbal cues, and identify the need for interpretive services.
- Nevada Community Service: Students will spend two hours per week, and later a full month, in community-based and social service agencies to learn how communities work together to address the public health, social, and health care needs of our diverse populations. There will be special focus on caring for vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, victims of violence and people with disabilities.
I can’t wait to recruit and welcome our charter class. It’s going to be an amazing milestone for all of us.
Best wishes,
Barbara
