Nickens Symposium Report on Health Professions Diversity Published

Results of the "Symposium on Diversity in the Health Professions in Honor of Herbert W. Nickens, M.D." have been published by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine as "The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do: Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions." The volume includes a summary and text of the papers presented at a forum in March 2001 that addressed: the continued under-representation of African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans in the health professions; their health care needs; and policy, legislative, and legal challenges to affirmative action that may limit access of under-represented minority students to health professions training. The symposium was supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Office of Minority Health. Dr. Nickens was the first director of the Office of Minority Health. The report can be read on-line without charge or purchased from the National Academy Press.