07 Feb The American Academy of HIV Medicine Holds Inaugural Minority Student Open to Increase HIV Workforce Diversity
Upcoming Legislative Briefing Also Highlights the Needs of Workforce Expansion
Washington, DC: The American Academy of HIV Medicine recognizes the need for greater racial diversity in our healthcare system, including within the HIV workforce. Studies show that racial and ethnic concordance between patients and providers is associated with improved patient satisfaction and may improve health outcomes. For people of color living with or at risk for HIV, this presents a challenge as only five percent of doctors in the U.S. are African American and only 5.8 percent are Hispanic or Latinx.
To that end, the Academy will be hosting their first Minority Student Open on March 30, 2022 from 2:00pm – 4:30pm ET. The virtual conference is for medical, nursing, pharmacy, PA and other health-related students and trainees who are members of minority communities. The free event hosted by the Academy’s Council for Racial Equity features a plenary speaker, an interdisciplinary panel discussion and breakout sessions that will inspire and inform minority students to consider a health professions career in HIV care, policy or research. A faculty of preeminent leaders in HIV will pass along lessons learned and create opportunities for mentorship and professional insight. Breakout sessions offered include sessions on the hierarchy in healthcare, navigating systemic racism, and the basics of business in HIV healthcare and research.
“Until we are able to increase the diversity in our healthcare workforce, health disparities will continue to erode advances in HIV care and prevention,” said Bruce J. Packett, executive director of the Academy.
Learn more and register to attend at aahivm.org/minority-student-open.
In addition to the Minority Student Open, the Academy and the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) will co-host a legislative briefing on February 8, 2022, for Members of Congress and their staff to commemorate National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and raise awareness of the legislation we are supporting that helps reduce HIV in Black and African American communities in the United States, while also building a more robust and diverse workforce.
The briefing will feature panelists from both the Academy and HIVMA and will be joined by Rep. Barbara Lee and Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón, co-chairs of the Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus; Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, sponsor of the HELP Act; Rep. Maxine Waters, and panelists from AIDS United, the Black AIDS Institute, and Aaron Johnson Levy, actor-producer, representing the community experience. Esther Fasanmi, PharmD, BCIDP, BCPS, AAHIVP, has graciously agreed to represent the Academy at the event.
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD) was first established in 1999 and is observed annually on February 7 to increase awareness, spark conversations and show support for people with and at risk for HIV in these communities.
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