Building Equity: Why Representation and Opportunity Matter in Health Care
Why Representation and Opportunity Matter in Health Care
As a health professions student, it's important to understand the complex challenges shaping the U.S. health care system. One of the most pressing issues is ensuring that all communities—regardless of background—can receive high-quality, affordable care. This includes addressing persistent gaps in health outcomes and services experienced by certain racial, ethnic, and economic groups.
An important step in this effort is ensuring our health care workforce reflects the wide range of individuals it serves — in experience, values, and background — and is prepared to deliver care with cultural sensitivity and understanding.
ExploreHealthCareers is dedicated to encouraging broad participation in the health professions. A well-rounded workforce that brings a variety of perspectives and lived experiences is key to delivering better, more informed care to all. Our goal is to open doors to opportunity, support academic and professional excellence, and strengthen understanding across all areas of the health care field.
For the purposes of this site, we consider representation across many dimensions. These include federally recognized protected classes such as race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, and genetic information. We also acknowledge additional factors—such as socioeconomic background, educational experiences, geographic location, and cultural identity—that influence pathways into the health professions and contribute to a more representative workforce.
We hope ExploreHealthCareers inspires and supports tomorrow’s health care leaders: people from every walk of life, committed to compassion, open-mindedness, and providing quality care — especially for those who are uninsured or living in underserved communities.