A very small percentage of the people who work as health professionals in the U.S. identify as Native American; one-half of one-percent of registered nurses. It’s about the same percentage for Native physicians.
At Washington State University Spokane, Dr. Naomi Bender is trying to boost those numbers.
Bender recently came to Spokane from the University of North Dakota’s Indians Into Medicine program. She says that program is one of the most successful in the nation at training Native students for medical and other health careers.