VOA标准英语2010年-Minority Doctors Needed to Help Bridge

While the health care reform debate in the United States has been dominated on lowering the cost of health insurance, other health care activists¹ and experts are working behind the scenes to lower barriers to quality health care for African-Americans and Hispanics.  One well-respected figure says the key is bringing more minorities into the profession. 

Numerous studies indicate African-Americans and Hispanics receive a poorer quality of health care than non-Hispanic whites, even when they have the same levels of income and health insurance coverage².  Researchers say the reasons for this disparity include stereotyping³ of patients by health care providers, and a severe shortage of minority health care professionals. 

Dr. Louis Sullivan says minority health care professionals fill a key role in serving ethnic⁴ communities. "There are studies that have shown that African American physicians and Hispanic American physicians are three to five times more likely to establish their practices in African American or Hispanic American communities," he said.

Sullivan, who once served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, says minority physicians see a higher percentage of patients with either no insurance, or covered by Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income Americans.

He says these factors improve the chances for providing quality health care, because of the shared identity between doctor and patient.

"What happens with the health outcome, depends upon good communication, the trust and credibility between the health professional and the individual seeking care, and an understanding of the patient's culture, value system, so that one can develop, hopefully, a strong relationship or interaction between the health professional and the individual," Dr. Sullivan explained.  "Otherwise what we see resulting are a lack of compliance⁵, people not returning for appointments, not filling prescriptions⁶, not doing a number of things they should be doing as part of the health exchange.

Consideration of a minority patient's language, customs and beliefs by virtue⁷ of their heritage is a concept known as cultural competency.  Sullivan, who also served as dean of the historically African-American Morehouse College School of Medicine, says medical schools are beginning to incorporate this concept in educating and training the next generation of health care professionals, regardless of their race.

"It will be decades before our health care system truly mirrors the makeup⁸ of our general population," Dr. Sullivan said. "So yes, we want all of our physicians, white, African American, Latino, what have you, to be culturally competent."

Dr. Sullivan says there will be a chronic⁹ shortage of doctors in the country as a whole, as more medical schools transform from training and education, into medical research.
 

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 stereotyping   

v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I realize that I'm stereotyping. 我认识到我搞的是老一套。 来自辞典例句
• There is none of the gender stereotyping usually evident in school uniforms. 有没有人的性别刻板印象通常是显而易见的。 来自互联网

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

6 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

7 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

8 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

9 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。