title: Impaired black health professionals: vulnerabilities and treatment approaches.
abstract: The impaired black health professional is in a unique position in American society. Factors that contribute to this uniqueness include: the small number of black health professionals, which limits resources for program development and referrals; overt and covert racism in society and in medical school curriculums; differences in black and white drug and alcohol abuse and suicide patterns; and upward mobility, which tends to isolate the black professional from black support systems. These factors need to be recognized by the health care profession. Bias-free investigations are needed to provide more information on ethnic differences so that impaired health professional programs and services may give more appropriate treatment.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010815:Physician Impairment; D011363:Professional Impairment; D011822:Race Relations; D012937:Social Mobility; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology