Viewpoint: The Bureau of Health Professions: Working to Provide Health Care Access for All Americans by By Sam S. Shekar, M.D., M.P.H. The problem with health care in America is simple: Too many people-more than 44 million-lack access to adequate health care services, oftentimes because health care professionals aren't available to meet their needs.

Beyond Their Borders:Medical Schools Foster a Community of Global Health Dr. Finch's conviction that American medical schools and teaching hospitals can greatly benefit from international outreach programs is shared by a growing number of U.S. academic medical centers that are forming alliances with medical institutions around the globe.

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AAMC Project to Examine Medical Students' Clinical Education Despite extensive curricular reforms in the first two years of medical school, the clerkship model around which the third and fourth years are organized has remained virtually unchanged for the past quarter century. As a result, clinical curricula may not be adequately preparing students for residency or laying the educational groundwork for future medical practice.

Nickens Award Winners Promote Diversity in Medicine Herbert W. Nickens, M.D., worked throughout his life to address racial disparities in the world of medical education. To keep his memory alive and continue his tireless efforts to increase the number of minorities in the medical profession, the AAMC established the Herbert W. Nickens Memorial Fund shortly after Dr. Nickens' death in March 1999.

Leadership Q&A-Man of the Cloth and the Clinic Discusses Africa's Health Crisis Peter Le Jacq is not your average physician. One of only about 100 Roman Catholic priests worldwide who are medical doctors, the Rev. Le Jacq, M.D., has spent a dozen years as a health care worker and medical missionary in one of the world's poorest countries.

The Caring Side of Medicine: Reaching Out to Communities

Santiago, Chile: Physicians and nurses in the Hospital Sotero del Rio are deeply dedicated to serving Santiago's large uninsured population. Thanks to their tireless work and community outreach, Chile has among the lowest rates of tuberculosis in Latin America.

Benjamin Shapiro, Fourth-year medical student University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA School of Medicine

This series features photographs from medical students and residents selected as winners of the AAMC's 2000-2001 photography contest, "The Caring Side of Medicine: Reaching Out to Communities."