How Dr. Hector Flores and More Doctors for California Are Building a Stronger Physician Pathway

For nearly five decades, Dr. Hector Flores has worked to expand healthcare access across California. Throughout this time, his belief that the state’s physician shortage isn’t rooted in a lack of talent, but rather a lack of opportunity, has remained constant.

Today, that work has taken on new momentum through More Doctors for California (MD4CA), a statewide coalition that LatinX Physicians of California (LPOC) helped establish as a founding member. As co-chair of the coalition, Dr. Flores believes the solution to the physician shortage lies in expanding opportunity at every stage of the journey.

“We’re committed to building lasting change and to do so means identifying need and creating opportunities at every stage of the medical education continuim—from pre-K through practice,” said Dr. Flores.

For MD4CA, the shortage isn’t the result of a single broken system. Instead, it’s the product of interconnected barriers that begin long before a student ever applies to medical school.

California's public schools educate nearly six million students, with more than half identifying as Latino. Yet many attend under-resourced schools that lack strong STEM programs, college preparation, and mentorship opportunities. 

These barriers don't end at elementary school either. Students encounter financial challenges, limited access to post-baccalaureate programs, increasingly competitive admissions, and a demanding medical training system and practice environment that contribute to physician burnout. Policy changes and legal challenges have further narrowed many of the programs designed to expand opportunity.

For Dr. Flores, strengthening physician pathways isn't simply about filling workforce shortages. It's about improving patient care.

Latinos make up nearly 40% of California's population but represent only 6.7% of the state's practicing physicians. Meanwhile, more than 11 million Californians live in areas without enough primary care physicians, and the state is projected to need more than 8,200 additional doctors by 2030. 

"The evidence is pretty clear," Dr. Flores told us. "Language and cultural concordance are strong predictors of quality care and patient engagement.”

Research consistently shows that patients who share language and cultural connection with their physicians experience stronger communication, greater trust, and better health outcomes. For Dr. Flores, those findings reinforce why strengthening the physician pathway matters.

The primary goal of improving patient care is what has shaped the coalition’s eleven initiatives—from expanding early STEM exposure, community college pathways, and increasing post-baccalaureate opportunities to promoting holistic admissions, expanding residency positions, creating stronger pathways for internationally trained physicians, and supporting medical professionals throughout their careers.

Led by the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, MD4CA brings together more than 30 partners across health systems, universities, medical schools, community organizations, and policymakers. Together, the coalition is advancing a shared vision of building a stronger physician workforce through long-term investments that will outlast any individual grant or funding cycle.

Beyond policy and programs, MD4CA also prioritizes raising awareness of the physician workforce gap by supporting initiatives like National Latino Physician Day, which celebrates the contributions of Latino/a/x physicians while highlighting the need for representative care. 

"We’ve been trying to solve pieces of this problem for decades now by providing episodic grant initiatives," Dr. Flores recalled. "Some programs worked, but too often they disappeared when the funding ended because we hadn’t institutionalized the pathways we were creating. That’s what makes MD4CA different. We’re bringing organizations like Health Net, LPOC, and other partners from across the state together around a shared commitment of building lasting infrastructure that connects each point of the journey.”

Asked what success looks like a decade from now, Dr. Flores doesn't start with workforce numbers. He talks instead about human capital. 

“Each young person entering a California classroom represents future possibility,” he said, “Investing in their education strengthens California's healthcare system, economy, and communities alike.”

For students who wonder whether a career in medicine is possible, his advice remains simple:

"The only one who can tell us to give up is ourselves."

After nearly five decades of advocacy, Dr. Flores remains convinced the next generation of physicians is already in California’s classrooms. The challenge now is making sure the pathways exist so those students are well-positioned and supported to complete the journey.