A two-part study was conducted to investigate the underrepresentation of blacks in the medical and nursing professions. Through a literature search it was found that due to the low number of minority applicants medical schools have created positions for minority recruiters who serve as role models, empathize with black student concerns, and help dispel distrust of white-dominated medical institutions; special preparatory and remedial programs are needed by disadvantaged students; and blacks need financial aid for tuition, fees, and books. For the second part of the study, which examined the nursing professions, students were sent questionnaires and chairpersons were interviewed at twenty-six nursing schools representing various regions and degree programs. The following conclusions were reached on black recruitment, admission, and retention in nursing schools: (1) blacks are most likely to enroll in schools with associate degree programs, low tuition rates, and located in their own neighborhoods; (2) meeting with high school counselors and students is the most successful recruitment practice; (3) special admission criteria and admission committees with black members do not affect the size of black enrollment; (4) preadmission programs for remedial instruction increase the number of black applicants, but have little effect on student retention and state board passage rates; and (5) schools with flexible curriculum and class scheduling had a high retention of black students as did schools with extensive funding programs. (ELG)