Mission
WHILE AFRICAN AMERICAN AND LATINX INDIVIDUALS REPRESENT 13% AND 18% OF THE U. S. POPULATION RESPECTIVELY, THEY ARE DRAMATICALLY UNDER-REPRESENTED AS PROVIDERS WITHIN THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN GENERAL, AND GASTROENTEROLOGY IN PARTICULAR. WITH ONLY 4% OF PRACTICING GASTROENTEROLOGISTS IDENTIFYING AS AFRICAN AMERICAN AND ONLY 5% IDENTIFYING AS LATINX, IN THE ABSENCE OF MEANINGFUL CHANGE, THE FIELD OF GASTROENTEROLOGY WILL STRUGGLE TO PROVIDE EFFECTIVE, EQUITABLE, AND CULTURALLY CONSCIOUS CARE TO A GROWING POPULATION IN NEED OF IT. TO ADDRESS THIS CRITICAL DEFICIT IN THE DIVERSITY OF PROVIDERS, GASTROCARES SEEKS TO INSPIRE MOTIVATED INDIVIDUALS TO PURSUE CAREERS IN MEDICINE THROUGH EARLY EXPOSURE TO PHYSICIAN ROLE MODELS, MENTORS, AND HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES.