Faculty, staff at top medical schools not reflective of minority populations, report finds

Alyssa Rege -

Ten of the top medical institutions in the U.S., including Boston-based Harvard Medical School and the New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Medicine, do not employ faculty and staff representative of the nation's black, Latino and Native American populations, according to a White Coats for Black Lives report obtained by The Guardian.

White Coats for Black Lives is a medical student-run organization created in 2014 in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that had occured nationwide at the time. The group's objective is to promote health equity and ensure physicians' societal influence is directed toward social progress for all, particularly to those most affected by racism and burdened by poor health outcomes. The organization is also responsible for staging "die-in" protests across the nation, the most recent of which took place April 17 in honor of Stephon Clark, 22, who was fatally shot by police in Sacramento, Calif., in March.

The organization released a 129-page report April 25 grading 10 of the nation's top medical schools on their efforts to fight racial bias. Institutions graded in the inaugural report included Harvard Medical School; the New York City-based Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; and the Yale School of Medicine, among others.

The institutions were graded across 15 metrics on a letter grade scale from "A" to "C." One such metric involved whether a school's student and faculty minority representation was proportionate to that of the nation's. All 10 schools received a "C" grade for the metric, indicating their institution's faculty and student minority population was not indicative of the broader population.

The report, obtained by The Guardian, indicated the 10 medical schools fell short on a number of diversity-related metrics, including providing robust antiracism training and paying all workers a living wage relative to the school's location.

While many schools welcomed the report, which the organization shared with them prior to its release to the public, some institutions claimed the analysis overlooked certain initiatives and had questionable methodology. WC4BL officials told The Guardian many of the schools provided additional information on their diversity initiatives that was not initially available to include in the report.

To access The Guardian report, click here.

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.