Texan Becomes 9th Black Female Pediatric Surgeon in the U.S.
(Image: Facebook-Kanika Bowen-Jallow)
Dr. Kanika Bowen-Jallow, a board-certified pediatric surgeon at Cook Children’s Pediatric Surgery Center in Prosper, TX, is now the ninth Black female pediatric surgeon in the United States, according to the American Pediatric Surgical Association.
Data from the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) show the growth of Black or African American applicants, matriculants, and graduates lagged behind other groups as recent as 2019. Thus, Bowen-Jallow’s accomplishment represents a lack of diversity in the medical field.
(Image: Facebook-Kanika Bowen-Jallow)
The native Texan told
Good Morning America that medical school was the first time she had encountered Black physicians in any field. As a result of low number of Black doctors in the U.S., many of her young patients are not accustomed to encountering female doctors like Bowen-Jallow.
May 1, 2011
Fifty-five days to see a doctor in Massachusetts under Romneycare, the mini-Obamacare. That information needs to get around.
“The doctor is not in.
The United States already faces a growing physician shortage. As our population ages, we require more and more intensive health care. At the same time, enrollment in medical schools has been essentially flat, meaning we are not producing new physicians at anywhere near the rate we need to. In fact, according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, we face a shortfall of more than 150,000 doctors over the next 15 years.
And it could get a whole lot worse.
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OffOn I never saw a Black physician as a kid, said Dr. Kanika Bowen-Jallow.
• 8 min read
Dr. Kanika Bowen-Jallow is proving why representation in the medical field matters. Cook Children s
Dr. Kanika Bowen-Jallow was eight years into her pursuit of becoming a pediatric surgeon before she met a surgeon who looked like her, as a Black American.
Now, Bowen-Jallow is a trailblazer in her own right as only the ninth Black female pediatric surgeon in the United States, according to the American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA). I honestly had never thought about it before because there are so few of us, that’s always been my reality, Bowen-Jallow told Good Morning America. You’re just used to that.
Why DACA Matters
April 29, 2021, 9:01 am
In the near future, a federal judge in Texas will rule on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows certain eligible young immigrants who arrived to the United States as children to access a renewable, two-year work permit and a reprieve from deportation. Since its inception in 2012, DACA has allowed over 800,000 young immigrants to remain with their families and communities in the United States. Although it’s widely popular a majority of Americans across the political spectrum support a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers for the past four years, DACA and its beneficiaries have been under attack. The Trump administration made multiple unsuccessful attempts to end DACA, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling that left the policy in place.
Written by Amy Ta, produced by Angie Perrin
Apr. 21, 2021National MORE There’s been no increase in the percentage of Black male doctors in the U.S. since 1940, and they earn about $50,000 per year less than white male doctors. That’s according to new research from UCLA. Photo by Shutterstock.
New research from UCLA shows that about 5% of all U.S. doctors are Black, and the proportion of Black physicians in the country has grown 4% over the past 120 years. There’s been no jump in the percentage of Black male doctors here since 1940, and they earn about $50,000/year less than white male doctors.