Underrepresented in Medicine
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) definition of underrepresented in medicine is:
“Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.”
Disadvantaged Background
The Bureau of Health Workforce of the Health Resources & Service Administration defines the following disadvantaged backgrounds as:
Environmentally Disadvantaged
A person’s environment inhibited them from obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to enroll in and graduate from a health professions school.
Economically Disadvantaged
A person from a family with an annual income below a level based on low-income thresholds, according to family size established by the U.S. Census Bureau, adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index, and adjusted by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for use in all health professions programs. A family is a group of two or more people. The Secretary updates these income levels in the Federal Register annually.
Educationally Disadvantaged
A person who comes from a social, cultural, or educational environment that has demonstrably and directly inhibited the person from obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to develop and participate in a health professions education or training program.