DES MOINES, Iowa — Des Moines University (DMU) medical students and MercyOne doctors came together on Friday for their second-annual National Latino Physician Day celebration.
People of Latin American and Hispanic descent make up about 20% of the country's population, but only account for 6% of practicing physicians nationwide.
It's a healthcare gap students at DMU, and local doctors are working to address.
"If a person has a similar background as you, like Latino-to-Latino, that's gonna make an impact and that's going to make your patient trust you more, and it's going to impact health care in a positive way," said first-year Des Moines University student Laura Ramirez.
Here in Iowa, less than 100 physicians are of Latin descent, which is less than 1% of the Latino population.
It's underrepresentation DMU second-year student Isnavys Perez-Rodriguez said she's experienced with her family, first-hand.
"When I go to the doctor appointment with my parents, or my grandparents, whenever they have to go to the hospital for something, I am the person they rely on instead of the doctor," she said. "The same way that some doctors were there during our most vulnerable times, I also want to be there during other peoples' most vulnerable times."
Perez-Rodriguez said it's easier to connect and trust a physician or doctor who "looks like you", and can eliminate the cultural and language boundaries. Making doctor visits easier for patients, is one of the reasons students, like Perez-Rodriguez, attended the event.
"Even though you will face challenges, because you will face discrimination, systemic racism, or bias of some sort, that all the people have done. And we can be their mentors and guide them," added MercyOne Dr. Maria Guevara Hernandez.
Another area these students and doctors like Guevara Hernandez are working to address is Latina women in the physician field. According to the National Library of Medicine, Latina women only make up 2.5% of total practicing physicians in the U.S.