Celebrating and Supporting Latino Physicians
Early in October my residency program and various other institutions celebrated National Latino Physician Day. This day of observance was founded in 2022 by two physicians who recognized significant disparities in the makeup of Latino physicians in California and in the United States, and sparked a social media call to action. This grew into an annual observed each October 1 with national and state organizational backing and formal resolutions (https://kevinmd.com/2023/08/national-latino-physician-day-a-crisis-sparked-the-origin-of-a-national-day.html).
The mission of National Latino Physician Day is to improve the quality of care for the U.S. Latino population by increasing the number of Latino physicians who provide culturally and linguistically concordant care (https://www.nationallatinophysicianday.com/). In the United States, the Latino population is one of the fastest growing groups, comprising 19% of the country’s population in 2022 (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/22/key-facts-about-us-latinos-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/). Only 6% of physicians in the U.S. identify as Latino according to AAMC data (https://www.aamc.org/media/6046/download?attachment), and unfortunately both Black and Latino medical school enrollees declined by double digits in the 2024-2025 school year (https://www.chiefhealthcareexecutive.com/view/admission-of-black-hispanic-medical-school-studentsfalls-by-double-digits). In California, the difference persists, as Latinos are 40% of the population, yet only 11% of medical school graduates (https://www.altamed.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-01/latino-physician-shortage-in-california_0.pdf). In Los Angeles County, Spanish is spoken at home by roughly 38% of residents (https://www.laalmanac.com/population/po47.php), highlighting the need for language concordance for the patient-physician relationship.
Given persistent healthcare disparities in Latino community, there is an urgency for the need of Latino physician representation as well as a united effort to improve health outcomes for the communities where we live and practice. As a Spanish-speaking Latina who is the daughter of Bolivian immigrants, I see on a daily basis the power of a shared culture and language with my patients. There is a level of trust and connection that is powerful. As many caring physicians have experienced, the satisfaction to work with patients to help improve their A1c, control their depression, or heal their chronic shoulder pain is immeasurable. When patients offer blessings in Spanish, reminiscent of my mother, it fills my heart joy and gratitude.
Research supports that racial, ethnic, and language concordance improves the patient experience. A 2021 systematic scoping review concluded that patient-physician language concordance was associated with better clinical outcomes, including better diabetes control, adequate mental health care, lower readmission rates, and improved medication adherence (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33816420/). Latino patient-physician concordance is positively associated with higher probabilities of seeking preventative care and seeking care for new and ongoing problems (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37479955/).
The research is clear: efforts to improve physician workforce diversity are imperative. These efforts are especially necessary in the setting of a worsening physician shortage crisis, recent news of Medicaid cuts that will disproportionately impact Latinos, and recent immigration enforcement actions that delay care and harm physical and mental health (https://www.nationallatinophysicianday.com/_files/ugd/8bd81b_ae7e3fa5b3e54455af3d08c0d78b378a.pdf).
Celebrating National Latino Physician Day resonates strongly with me as I am the product of a pipeline of supportive physician mentors. I recall in college and medical school feeling alone and inadequate. Many Latino physicians have faced similar experiences. These are compounded by challenges such as living in mixed-status immigrant families, financial hardships, and “cultural taxation,” which is the obligation to represent and promote a cultural group for an institution, often resulting in uncompensated labor asked of underrepresented faculty and clinicians (https://www.calfac.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/cultural_taxation_cfmagfall2013.pdf).
I invite our LAAFP community to get involved. Specifically for National Latino Physician Day, one can share statistics and promote the need for more representation every October 1. You can ask your organization to endorse a National Latino Physician Day event. More broadly there is a call to action for hospitals, academic centers, and legislative leaders to incorporate structural changes to improve Latino representation in the U.S. physician workforce and address the disparities that we see daily in our practices. These efforts must expand to include improving language-concordant care and increasing underrepresented groups in different health care positions.
One of my long-time Latina patients recently graduated from college and aspires to be a physician assistant. Seeing a physician who looks like her and shared her background showed her what is possible. I will support her as best as I can to help her reach her goals. The pipeline must continue for the betterment of our communities.
