Recognizing the power of diversity

"The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we are ready for it." While Arnold H. Glasgow did not have diversity in mind when he made this statement, his thought is relevant to that topic nevertheless. In fact, almost everything in the health care environment of the 1990s is fluid, making the future a question mark. Among these changes is the demographic composition of students entering medical school and of patients. Consider the following. While 14 percent of today's physicians are people of color, that number increases to 25 percent for current medical students. In the past 10 years, the number of female physicians has seen the largest percentage growth, followed by American Indians, Blacks, and Hispanics. Physician executives who have vision and energy can capitalize on this demographic revolution and convert diversity into a competitive advantage once its boundaries are understood.