Page 2, Section II, Portland Observer, July 27, 1983
CHOOSING A CAREER
Statistics teacher
specializes in
theory of games
Study finds severe
shortage of black
health professionals
W A S H IN G T O N . D C — A new
study o f black health professions in
American released recently said "se
vere shortages" exist in the nation’s
supply of minority doctors, den
tists, pharmacists, and veterinarians
and warns the problem will worsen
in the eighties and beyond unless re
medial action is taken.
The study, conducted for the As
sociation o f M inority Health Pro
fessons Schools, said predictions of
impending surpluses o f physicians
and other health
professionals
simply do not apply to blacks.
Although blacks accounted for
11.7 percent o f the U .S. population
in 1980, the study found that blacks
comprised only 2.6 percent of all
doctors, 2.9 percent o f dentists, 2.5
percent o f pharmacists, and 1.6 per
cent o f veterinarians.
Louis W . Sullivan, M .D ., presi
dent and dean o f Morehouse School
of Medicine in A tlanta and presid-
Louis W . Sullivan, M .D ., presi
dent and dean o f Morehouse School
o f Medicine in Atlanta and presi
dent o f the Association, said in a
preface to the study that the ratio of
blacks to whiles in medicine and
other healing professions histori
cally has been low.
"T his is the legacy o f decades of
segregation
and
discrimination,
which, until the late 1960s, resulted
in unequal educational opportunity,
including a relative lack o f access to
health professions education for
black Americans,” Sullivan said.
"A s a nation, we need to utilize
the most talented individuals avail
able for the demanding health pro
fessions in an effort to improve
health status of our citizens and to
improve our nation's system of
health care,” he said. “ For blacks,
who are aware o f the fact that,
compared with whites, their lives are
shorter, their pregnant mothers and
their infants die more frequently,
and they have a greater burden of
illness and disability, the statement
that the United Slates has the best
system o f medical care in the world
has a hollow ring.”
In addition to Morehouse School
of Medicine, the Association of M i
nority Health Professions Schools
includes the M eharry School of M e
dicine and Dentistry, Nashville.
Tenn.; Charles R. Drew Post-gradu
ate Medical College. Los Angeles,
C a lif.; Tuskegee Institute School of
Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee In
stitute, A la.; Florida A & M Univer
sity College o f Pharmacy, Tallahas
see, Fla.; Texas Southern University
School o f Pharmacy. Houston,
Texas; and Xavier University C o l
lege o f Pharmacy, New Orleans, La.
A t present, o f the 127 medical
schools in the U .S ., four minority
schools produce almost 25 percent
o f the black physicians; o f 58 dental
schools, (he two minority institu
tions produce 58 percent of the
black dentists; o f 71 pharmacy
schools, the four minority schools
produce 45 percent of black phar
macists; and o f 27 veterinary medi
cine schools, predominantly black
Tuskegee produces 75 percent of all
black veterinarians.
The study found that black health
professions students and institutions
are generally under much greater fi
nancial pressure than those of
whiles— a significant obstacle to in
creasing the number o f black health
professionals.
Black students, the study notes,
generally come from lower-income
families, tend to be older, and are
more likely to incur greater indebt
edness to become doctors or other
health professionals. The study said
current federal student aid policies,
which are heavily tilted toward
loans tied to commercial interest
rates rather than scholarship grants
and subsidized loans, are making it
more difficult for minority students
to enter and continue health
professions education.
D r. David Blackwell, professor of
statistics at the University o f C a li
fornia at Berkeley, is one o f the na
tion's leading mathematicians.
D r. Blackwell is a mathematician
and teacher who has been a pioneer
in statistics for nearly 40 years. He
has (aught at Berkeley since 1954.
He specializes in the fields o f set
theory and the theory of games such
as bridge and chess.
Born in Centralia, 111., D r. Black-
well
received
his
bachelor’s,
master's and doctoral degrees from
the University o f Illinois in mathe
matics, a field not pursued by many
blacks in the 1950s.
He began his teaching career at
Nurse Practitioner
finds job rewarding
by Lanita Duke
" A n ounce o f prevention is worth
a pound o f cure," as the medical
philosophy o f Pediatric Nurse Prac
titioner M ariah A . T aylor. R .N .,
M .S .D . Her activities include teach
ing sex education to third graders.
“ These kids are very well versed.
They were down to knowing the
anatomy of men and women. The
kids lead the way but I interjected
the word ’ respect' into their vocabu
lary— whether this person was respe
ing your body by touching your
breast or genitals. I steered them
away from the concept o f the body
as being ‘ nasty.’ W e took sex to the
level o f respecting that other person
whether they wanted to be touched
or not. I wanted to give them a
healthy outlook on their own sexual
development. Although they were
only eight or nine years old they
asked some very mature questions.
One little boy asked if his sperm was
mature enough to get a girl preg
nant. W hat I did was pick up the
pieces and sort o f put them togeth
e r."
Mrs. Taylor's forte is pediatrics.
" T h e biggest problem affecting A f
ro-American children in Portland is
nutrition— the lack o f proper nutri
tion. I f you look at the total child I
think the problem is also being
deprived of a good healthy image of
themselves. Self-image has a lot to
do with health. W hat you think of
yourself and who you think you are
affects how you are going to take
care o f yourself. The real 64,000-
dollar-question is, do you have the
means to take care o f yourself?"
Out o f the shortage o f doctors in
the inner city came the concept of
Nurse Practitioner. " A Nurse Prac
titioner is a Registered Nurse who
specializes in a given field. We arc
called a mid-level practitioner. We
are not at the level o f a physician
nor do we have the traditional con
straints of a Registered Nurse. A Pe
diatric Nurse Practitioner has an ad
vanced degree in nursing and has
within that training and added de
gree o f certification. O ur main pur
pose is wellness and health mainten
ance types o f things. I never operate
within a vacuum. I always utilize
other physicians and health profes
sionals."
Since M rs. Taylor deals with
those under 18 wondered how she
dealt with babies having babies.
"W h a t I try to get the person to see
is, regardless o f what happened,
their first responsibility is to keep
their head up high. W hat has
happened, has happened. They have
to start thinking about themselves
and their child. I focus not on the
fact that (hey had a baby and they
are just a child themselves but on
the health o f the fam ily. Regardless
o f what has happened they should
feel proud o f themselves and deal
with their new life ."
M ariah Taylor's office is located
at 5511 N . Vancouver. She can be
reached at 284-5259.
WANTED:
People Power
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leading fashion specialty store,
feels very strongly about.
People Power comes from our
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Pay chart
NE Emergency Food
Program seeks director
The Northeast Emergency Food
Program announced its decision to
accept applications for the position
o f Program Director for their Inner
Northeast program for feeding the
hungry.
The N .E .F .P . is a joint venture of
the Ecumenical Ministries o f O re
gon Caucus A , Albina Ministerial
Alliance, Urban League and the
Northeast Neighborhood Office.
The program anticipates a solid
base of funding from these and oth
er churches, foundations and com
munity organizations. Its goal in the
next six months is to provide emer
gency food boxes for 50 families per
week by January 1984
The N .E .F .P Board approved a
salary o f S I5.000 per year and will
accept resumes until August 12,
1985. Only the most qualified candi
dates will be interviewed for the po-
sition. For a complete description of
the job, please call the N .E .F .P . O f
fice or slop by in person. The ad
dress is 4815 N .E . 7th Avenue and
the telephone number is 284-5470.
Address all resumes and inquiries to
the Northeast Emergency Food Pro
gram.
The minimum qualifications for
this challenging new position in
clude a B .A ./B .S . in business of
public administration or relevant
social service field, knowledge of
the Inner Northeast Portland com
munity and o f food resources for
low-income persons, demonstrated
ability to work well with people o f
varied ethnic, income and social
backgrounds and to do grant writ
ing and fundraising. Two years ad
ministrative experience in a super
visory position related to food emer
gency relief efforts is also required.
Southern
University
in
Baton
Rouge. La., and later taught at
Clark College in Atlanta, G a., and
Howard University before moving
to Berkeley.
Active in numerous professional
organizations, he is currently the
only black member of the National
Academy o f Sciences. Four univer
sities have awarded him honorary
doctoral degrees in recognition of
his outstanding teaching and re
search in statistics.
As a university professor. Dr.
Blackwell hopes that even more stu
dents will experience the challenge
of mathematics and its application
to science and technology.
The following table compares salaries and wages in occupations:
1982 W ag e
Occupation
or Salary
W H ITE COLLAR
Chief accountant......................................................................
Corporate attorney....................................................................
Personnel director.....................................................................
C hem ist......................................................................................
Engineer.....................................................................................
Physician....................................................................................
BLUE COLLAR (hourly)
Steelworker...............................................................................
Autow orker...............................................................................
Tool Et die m aker.......................................................................
Apparel w o rk e r ......................................................................
Electrical w o rk e r............................................................................
Plum ber..........................................* .........................................
Highway constructor..............................................................
Carpenter................................................................................
Coal m in e r.......................................................................................
• — estimated
$61.225
76 202
57,859
53,656
62,494
*88.000
$13.96
13.01
10.04
5 96
13.62
12.25
9.95
11.10
12.68
The figures for hourly workers represent industry averages. Some
workers — particularly in the professions - could earn considerably more.
Some physician specialists, for example, earn upward of $200,000 a
year
The salary and hourly figures are from the U .S . Bureau of LaDor Sta
tistics. except for physicians, whose earnings were obtained from the
U .S . Statistical Abstract and from Medical Economics magazine. The
white collare salaries are averages for experienced professionals.
Nordstrom is an Equal Opportunity
Employer, we offer career
opportunities for all kinds of people
with all kinds of potential.
Careers in sales, customer service,
merchandise processing, clerical,
restaurant and building maintenance.
All excellent learning and
growing experiences for people who
want to work with us in continuing
our outstanding reputation of quality,
selection, value and customer service.
People Power. It’s the difference
at Nordstrom.
n o r d s t r D m
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