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Black and minority ethnic (BME) staff in the NHS experienced rising levels of discrimination, bullying and harassment in the past year, research suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that mental health nurses from African-Caribbean backgrounds should be supported to elevate to senior mental health positions in order to help address racial disparity in the field, according to independent reviewers.

The article discusses the result of a study from the authors L. Rouse and colleagues on the topic bullying. Topics mention include the absence of African American respondents in the survey, reports of bullying and mistreatment from African American and other underrepresented minorities in medicine (URMM) faculty and the effective solutions of bullying.

The article discusses the means for researchers to improve recruitment of minorities in research studies. It mentions the need to interact with individuals of a similar racial backgrounds to start a trusting relationship. It notes that it is helpful to perform an accurate assessment of the community where the recruitment will occur. It emphasizes that forming relationships with a patient's health care clinician can also an effective means of recruiting ethnically diverse participants.

The article highlights the need for cultural diversity within the health care profession in the U.S. The Sullivan Commission was formed in 2003 to address the scarcity of minorities in the health care community. The Nursing Workforce Diversity Grants program of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) offers grants and contract opportunities to schools of nursing looking to expand access to nursing education for disadvantaged students as well as racial and ethnic minorities under-represented in nursing.

The author reflects on the less representation of different religion and cultures in the Ethics Consultation Services (ECS) practice in the American hospitals. The author mentions that around 90% of the ethics consultants are white non-Hispanics. The author also mentions the small percentage of non-clinicians among the consultants. It is suggested that further research to identify the causes of the low representation, and programs to encourage increased diversity must be developed.

The article comments on a study which investigated the reason for the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in research studies in the U.S. The study was conducted by David Wendler and colleagues, published in the February 2006 issue of "PLoS Medicine." It analyzed the willingness of ethnic minorities to participate in research. The article mentions the strengths and weaknesses of the study.

The article announces that Yvonne Coghills has been appointed as director of workforce race equality standard implementation and Roger Kline as director of workforce race equality standard research and engagement by National Health Service (NHS) England to provide black and ethnic minority employees equal access to career opportunities.

The article announces that Great Britain and Ireland's largest trade union, Unite, has addressed workplace racism in its agenda during its Beyond Snowy White Peaks conference last July 14, 2015 in London, England. Topics include a survey showing that a third of Unite's black and ethnic minority (BAEM) members are still suffering from racial harassment at work, the toolkit Unite will develop to deter racism, and the National Health Service (HNS) workforce race equality standard (WRES).

The article describes the British National Health Service's (NHS) Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) as a new sector-wide initiative that will tackle race inequality within the entire NHS workforce following evidence of the link between the treatment of Black and Ethnic Minority (BAEM) staff and patient care.

The article announces that Dr. John J. Scrivens received the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)/ Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists (ABHP) Joint Leadership Award.

BERKELEY, CALIF. Black, Hispanic and American Indian enrollment rose sharply at the University of California's medical and law schools this fall, although the numbers still were below affirmative action levels. […]

Opinion. Focuses on minority enrollment in medical schools in the United States. Percentage of minorities training in hospitals; Effects of the assault on affirmative action to minority enrollment; College admission rates for minorities.

Focuses on issues on racial discrimination against doctors and students from ethnic minorities in Great Britain. Comparison among the proportion of non- and European students; Discovery of a computer program used in selecting medical students for admission; Involvement of health authorities in the discrimination issue.

Focuses on the underrepresentation of minorities in the fields of science and medicine in the United States. Lack of minority students trained for careers in medicine and science; Increase in the number of minority students enrolled in medical schools; Barriers present to minorities.

The article presents medicine news briefs as of August 30, 2014. Topics include the decision of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the participation of demographic minorities in tests of medical products and drugs, statistical data on mortality from HIV/AIDs in China, and the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.

Given the considerable demographic changes occurring in the in the United States coupled with the urgent need for the field of medicine to continue to adapt to and better align with societal needs and expectations, a growing number of leaders in academic medicine have called for academic health centers to redouble their efforts to increase the diversity of students, faculty, and staff. Although it is laudable to call for increased attention and efforts to diversify, it is of paramount importance to review and distill what we have learned from past efforts so that future energy can be spent intelligently to ensure greater impact going forward. This article reviews the literature on both the barriers and facilitators for racial and ethnic minorities in academic medical careers and offers guidance for increasing the diversity of the nation''s medical school faculty members and leadership. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The author ponders on the concept of positive discrimination as a form of elitism in the field of medicine. He argues against the claim that doctors are better people than police officers. He elaborates on the issue of discrimination in medical recruitment. He also suggests to combat elitism by introducing quotas to increase the number of the last minority in medicine.

The article reports on retention of women and minorities in physician-scientist programs in the United States. According to the article, majority of students in the programs have received financial assistance from the U.S. government's Medical Scientists Training Program's (MSTP). A study of about 80,000 medical graduates showed that 30 percent of those graduating from the programs were female.

This article reports on the reversal of a race discrimination court ruling against the British Medical Association by Indian trained physician Rajendra Chaudhary. Dr. Chaudhary was awarded £814,877 in 2002 for claims that the BMA failed to support him in his specialty training. The appeal court judges overturned the award saying there was no proof of his claims and no proof that the BMA was guilty of race discrimination. Dr. Chaudhary's case hinged on his belief that he had enough training for a royal college approved position but he was denied on the basis that he needed more training before he could take the job.

The article focuses on the expansion of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in the U.S. to help diversify the physician workforce. It notes that the racial/ethnic composition of the physician population should reflect the overall population's diversity according to the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME). It cites the importance of increasing the percentage of minorities in the medical profession. The expansion aims to increase allopathic enrollment by 15 to 30 percent by 2015.

The article presents news briefs on nurses in Great Britain as of November 2006. The nurses in the hospitals with the highest patient-to-nurse ratios were twice as likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs and report low or deteriorating quality of care according to researchers at King's College London in England. A study revealed that only 1.4% of senior National Health Service staff are from African and minority ethnic backgrounds, even though the group make up 14% of health service workers.

Mentions racial discrimination lawsuits against the BMA and focuses on Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality. Grievances reported to the commission, including bullying and employment discrimination against ethnic minority doctors; Phillips' career highlights and biographical information; His views about investigating complaints from staff and associate specialist doctors to find the reasons behind the problems; The dependence of the NHS on migrant labor health professionals; Implementation of an amendment to the 1976 Race Relations Act; Indication from a survey that ethnic minority patients feel discrimination in medical care; Phillips' hopes for the NHS.

Reports on the participation of minorities in clinical studies. Role of ethnicity in the diagnosis and treatment of disease; Underrepresented minority group in clinical trials; Plans of the U.S. Food and Drug Association to launch policies to include more women and ethnic minorities in clinical research.

Presents an obituary for Professor Soromini Kallichurum, who was thought to be a role model for South African students and academics. Perception that Kallichurum broke down barriers for women to succeed in the academic profession; Way that Kallichurum became the first non-white and first woman to be appointed dean of the faculty of medicine at the University of Natal; Topic of medical schools during apartheid in the 1980s.

Purpose: We compared MCAT scores, grade point averages (GPAs), and medical school acceptance rates of Black and Latino students in an outreach program called Undergraduate Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity and Excellence (USSTRIDE) to non-USSTRIDE students. We hypothesized that Black and Latino participants in USSTRIDE had higher acceptance rates to medical school, higher MCAT scores, and college GPAs when compared to other Black and Latino medical school applicants from our institution., Methods: The academic performance (GPAs and MCAT scores) and acceptance and matriculation rate data on all Black and Latino Florida State University applicants to any medical school from 2008 to 2012 were collected from the AIS/AMCAS database and separated into two comparison groups (USSTRIDE vs. Non-USSTRIDE). Independent sample T-tests and chi-square analysis, Cohen's D test, and odds ratios were determined., Results: Average science GPA was 3.47 for USSTRIDE students (n=55) and 3.45 for non-USSTRIDE students (n=137, p=0.68, d=0.0652). Average cumulative GPA was 3.57 for USSTRIDE students and 3.54 for non-USSTRIDE students (p=0.45, d=0.121). Average MCAT score was 23 for USSTRIDE students and 25 for non-USSTRIDE students (p=0.02, d=0.378). Twenty-three percent of accepted USSTRIDE students and 29% of accepted non-USSTRIDE students had multiple acceptances (p=0.483, OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.52-3.88). Forty-nine percent of non-USSTRIDE students and 75% of USSTRIDE students matriculated in medical school (p=0.001, OR 3.13 95% CI 1.51-6.74). About 78.6% of USSTRIDE students matriculated at FSU's medical school compared to 36.2% of non-USSTRIDE students (p<0.01)., Conclusions: USSTRIDE and non-USSTRIDE students had similar science and cumulative GPAs. USSTRIDE students' MCAT scores were lower but acceptance rates to medical school were higher. Participation in USSTRIDE is associated with increased acceptance rates for Black and Latino students to our medical school. This finding is true for other medical schools as USSTRIDE students are as likely as non-USSTRIDE students to have multiple acceptances.