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Diversity in Medical SchoolsA Much-Needed New Beginning

Educational Objective
To understand the necessity for medical schools to add to the diversity of their students in order to improve public health

1 Credit CME

JAMA

Published Online: January 5, 2021

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Article Information and Disclosures

Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD¹

Author Affiliations

¹Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia

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The disproportionate effect of the novel coronavirus on African Americans and communities of color has shone a new light on the more than century-old struggle to increase the number of Black physicians in the US. Today, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Black physicians account for 5% of all physicians even though African Americans comprise 13% of the US population. Only 1626 (7.4%) of the 21 863 students who entered medical school in 2019 were Black, roughly the same ratio as the last 15 years.¹

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Article Information

Corresponding Author: Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Dr, Atlanta, GA 30310 (vmrice@msm.edu).

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

References

Association of American Medical Colleges. AAMC Facts: Table A-9: Matriculants to US Medical Schools by Race, Selected Combinations of Race/Ethnicity and Sex, 2017-2018 Through 2020-2021. Published 2020. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2020-10/2020_FACTS_Table_A-9.pdf

Campbell KM , Corral I , Infante Linares JL , Tumin D . Projected estimates of African American medical graduates of closed historically Black medical schools. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(8):e2015220. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.15220 PubMed Google Scholar

Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Accredited MD programs in the United States. Updated October 20, 2020. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://lcme.org/directory/accredited-u-s-programs/

Association of American Medical Colleges. AAMC Facts: Table B-5.1: Total Enrollment by US Medical School and Race/Ethnicity (Alone), 2020-2021. Published 2020. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2020-11/2020_FACTS_Table_B-5.1.pdf

Association of American Medical Colleges. Using MCAT Data in 2021 Medical Student Selection. Published 2020. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2020-07/services_mcat_using-mcat-data-in-2021-medical-student-selection-guide_07082020_0.pdf

Elks ML , Herbert-Carter J , Smith M , Klement B , Knight BB , Anachebe NF . Shifting the curve: fostering academic success in a diverse student body. Acad Med. 2018;93(1):66-70. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000001783 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Association of American Medical Colleges. AAMC Applicant Matriculant Data File as of August 13, 2020. Association of American Medical Colleges; 2020.

Greenwood BN , Hardeman RR , Huang L , Sojourner A . Physician-patient racial concordance and disparities in birthing mortality for newborns. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020;117(35):21194-21200. doi:10.1073/pnas.1913405117 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

National Center for Education Statistics. Table 313.20: Fall Enrollment in Degree-Granting Historically Black Colleges and Universities, by Sex of Student and Level and Control of Institution: Selected Years, 1976 Through 2018. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_313.20.asp

Association of American Medical Colleges. National AAMC Special Report on the Number of All HBCU Graduates Who Applied, Matriculated, and Graduated From US Medical Schools [1988-2017]. Association of American Medical Colleges; 2018.

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 credit toward the CME of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.