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Review
. 2025 Apr;12(2):1195-1201.
doi: 10.1007/s40615-024-01953-x. Epub 2024 Mar 11.

Physician Workforce Diversity Is Still Necessary and Achievable if It Is Intentionally Prioritized

Rasheda J Vereen  1 , Mattie F Wolf  2
Affiliations
Review

Physician Workforce Diversity Is Still Necessary and Achievable if It Is Intentionally Prioritized

Rasheda J Vereen et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

The 2023 Supreme Court Decision from Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina threatens the current progress in achieving diversity within undergraduate and graduate medical education. This is necessary to achieve a diverse healthcare workforce, which is a key to healing historical healthcare trauma, eliminating health disparities, and providing equitable healthcare access for all communities. Although the Supreme Court decision seems obstructionist, viable opportunities exist to enhance recruitment further and solidify diversity efforts in undergraduate and graduate medical education to achieve these goals.

Keywords: Admissions; Diversity; Health disparities; Health equity; Recruitment; Workforce diversity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics Approval: Not applicable. Consent to Participate: Not applicable. Consent for Publication: Not applicable. Competing Interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or US Government, Emory University School of Medicine, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, or the Neonatal Justice Collaborative.

References

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    1. Supreme Court of the United States. Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. 600 U.S. 181. (2023).