Enrollment of black and Hispanic students in medical schools fell dramatically last year after the Supreme Court banned the consideration of race in admissions, according to data released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Black enrollment fell 11.6% compared to last year, while Hispanic enrollment fell 10.8%. The numbers were even higher for Indigenous students; the number of American Indians or Alaska Natives fell by 22.1%, while students who were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders fell by 4.3%.
The new figures reflect the first medical school class selected since the court’s decision and appear to confirm the concerns of those who feared that the June 2023 decision would lead to less diverse medical school classes and ultimately a less diverse medical workforce, which would undermine efforts harm to put an end to the serious consequences of the country. rooted racial health disparities.
Experts said the numbers were also largely influenced by a growing number of state-level initiatives to end or halt diversity efforts. Norma Poll-Hunter, senior director of equity, diversity and inclusion at the AAMC, called these two factors a “double whammy” and said she feared there was a deep misunderstanding about the importance of diversity in medicine.
“It is critical that everyone understands that this is not about racial preferences. This is about the health of the country,” she said. Physicians from underrepresented groups and women, she said, were more likely to serve patients dependent on Medicare and Medicaid and from communities with limited access to health care, including rural white communities. “That benefits everyone’s health,” Poll-Hunter said.
The number of white students remained approximately the same. An increase was seen in the number of Asian students, which increased by 8.4%, and in the number of students reporting their race as “other” or unknown.
The numbers undermine steady gains made in recent years in enrollment of groups underrepresented in medicine and return enrollment of Black and Hispanic students to pre-pandemic levels, according to AAMC officials, who previously said this “deeply disappointed‘ by the Supreme Court’s ruling. David Skorton, president and CEO of the organization, said in a statement Thursday that its member medical schools remain committed to diversifying the healthcare workforce. “There is evidence that a more diverse workforce can improve access to health care and the health of our communities,” he said.
“Some of you won’t understand why this is a huge problem,” said Roxana Daneshjou, assistant professor of biomedical data science and dermatology at Stanford, posted on Bluesky on Thursday. “As someone who works with students from underrepresented backgrounds, they often come in with fewer connections/resources, but work incredibly hard and are committed to helping close health disparities.”
“It’s no surprise that these numbers are starting to decline,” said Utibe Essien, an assistant professor of medicine at UCLA, whose research has shown that bans on affirmative action The number of students from underrepresented groups has decreased who register for medical training.
Essien and others said it could be difficult to increase the number of underrepresented students as many universities and medical schools are pulling back on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts due to legal challenges and fears they will lose funding. “Efforts to increase these numbers are really starting to slow down,” he said. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Essien said it was interesting that the AAMC reported an increase in applications coming from black and Hispanic students, showing that the Supreme Court ruling did not dampen these groups’ desire to attend medical school. He said he encourages hopeful applicants from underrepresented groups to work on getting the best MCAT scores possible, diversify their activities to stand out and keep trying to enter the profession. “The true health of our communities depends on it,” he said.
Many were particularly concerned about the decline – both in enrollment and applications – of Native American and Alaska Native students, as the number of physicians from that group is low and many tribal populations remain severely medically underserved. “Losing five to 10 people who identify as Native American is significant,” Poll-Hunter said. “That worries us very much.”
In California, where affirmative action in admissions was banned through a ballot measure in 1996, enrollment at black and Hispanic medical schools also fell sharply at the time but has since risen at one school, the University of California, Davis, after two years. decades of work by medical school leaders.
Providing a counterpoint, Admission details 2024-2025 of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine showed an increase in the number of students from underrepresented groups this fall. The number of black students increased from 3.9% to 4.7%, while the number of Hispanic students increased from 7% to 9%.
“Inclusion and empowerment are two of our core values and we rely on them to help us create a highly qualified physician workforce that reflects the needs of our country,” association president and CEO Robert Cain said in a statement. “These activities have not changed because of the SCOTUS decision, and many have been in place for years – an important ingredient for building trust and expanding the applicant pool.”
Poll-Hunter said she thought next year’s enrollment numbers would be especially informative as medical schools adjust to new political and legal realities. She said many medical school leaders are still working to diversify their enrollments while complying with new laws and mandates. “We are not giving up at all,” she said.
This story has been updated with additional comments about the AAMC data.
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