Is medical education systemically racist?

Abstract

After the murder of George Floyd, many professions, organizations, and institutions have begun to confront the long and persistent legacy of racism in the United States. Within that context, it is critically important for the medical education community to address the question of whether medical education is systemically racist, and if so, what should be done to address this problem. In this commentary, this author seeks to answer these questions, primarily by focusing on the role of standardized multiple-choice examinations in determining who gains admission to medical school and which medical students are then determined to be the best and the brightest. Analysis leads the author to the conclusion that medical education clearly meets the definition of systemic racism and that recent attempts to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of medical students have largely failed. The author then outlines a three-pronged approach to address this problem with interventions at the admissions, medical school, and graduate medical education levels.

Keywords: Admissions; Graduate medical education; Racism; Undergraduate medical education.