The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) represents the nation's 126 medical schools, their faculties, and 405 of its major teaching hospitals. The AAMC has had a long commitment to and involvement in the problem of increasing the number of racial/ethnic minorities in its medical schools. More recently the science community, at large, has become increasingly alarmed about the quality of science education of the nation, in general, and because of demographic shifts, the quality of science education of our nation's minority population, in particular. We propose to identify high school programs with substantial minority enrollments which have rigorous science curricula and create new ones where necessary. We further propose to create partnerships between these high school programs, colleges, and medical schools such that these educational units function synergistically, building on the excitement and competencies created at earlier stages. We further propose to organize these local partnerships into a National Network for Health Science Partnerships, both to multiply the national impact of these activities, and so that members can learn from the experiences of others.
