“I am the Face of My Future Generation”: Latina First-Generation Undergraduates Aspiring to Careers in Health Care and Medicine

Abstract

Given the need for Latinx/a/o health care providers in the United States, understanding how students choose these fields is critical to achieving more equitable systems. This study uses community cultural wealth to investigate how Latina first-generation college students choose and pursue health care careers. Findings show that women employed multiple sources of capital to learn about career options, challenge inequalities in health systems, and to give back to family, especially to honor past and future generations of women.