Should affirmative action be allowed in medical school admissions?

At its core, affirmative action policies are designed to prevent identity-based discrimination, therefore increasing diversity. These policies often involve gender, sexual orientation, and race. However, affirmative action has recently been equated with giving certain people a 'leg up' in admissions, and many question whether affirmative action holds a place in medical school admissions.

First, it is important to highlight the importance of diversity in medicine. The history of medicine in America has been marred with discrimination and abuse. Minority populations have been consistently mistreated and neglected. Mistreatment ranges from ignoring patient complaints to unethical experimentation. Thus, it is no surprise that medical distrust is prevalent in America. Regardless of the actual intentions of medical professionals, populations that have faced historical mistreatment may be slow to embrace medical advice. Hence, ensuring equitable representation in medicine will lead to better care. Physicians who share identities with patients may be able to build rapport that results in better adherence to treatment plans. Therefore, promoting diversity itself is undeniably a necessary objective for admissions committees. However, the question persists: are affirmative action policies the best method of achieving such diversity?

One issue with affirmative action policies is the mere stigma surrounding them. Many believe that such policies allow underqualified candidates to take spots from high-achieving applicants by lowering the standards for certain minorities, citing affirmative action policies as unfair. Thus, even minority students who do not benefit from these policies are considered less competent.

However, this perspective ignores the lived experience of minority students. It assumes the opportunities leading up to the admission process are equal. However, race and socioeconomic status play a role in the opportunities one can pursue during postsecondary education years as unconscious biases often bar minorities from leadership positions. Furthermore, so-called "old boys' networks" dictate career trajectories for many, with primarily white men leveraging connections that perpetuate existing social hierarchies. However, these connections are inaccessible to populations who were not allowed in high-paying careers until recently. In fact, one method of increasing diversity without enacting affirmative action policies is ending legacy admissions, as this strategy almost exclusively benefits white students.

Other methods of promoting diversity involve making medical school more accessible. Some examples include efforts to provide mentorship networks to students and increase financial aid. These policies may also help minimize medical school drop-out rates as well, which is important because these rates are higher among minority students. Costs and hostile environments where minority students feel unwelcome can drive medical students out of school. Therefore, it may be worthwhile focusing on policies that ensure career and educational retention rather than, or in conjunction with, affirmative action policies.

Overall, while creating more pathways for underrepresented populations to enter the medical field is almost universally considered a priority, whether affirmative action is the best way to achieve this goal remains to be seen.