In November, the Association of American Medical Colleges released its first-ever analysis detailing how medical schools across the country have implemented “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies.
According to Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, board chair of Do No Harm, an organization aimed at protecting healthcare from divisive ideology, the AAMC surveyed 101 medical institutions asking for audits of their DEI programs. The AAMC asked the schools to answer 89 yes-or-no questions on their DEI activities and presented the results like a report card, Goldfarb explained in a piece for the New York Post. The schools that scored above 80 percent were colored green, and those that scored between 61 percent and 80 percent were yellow. Institutions below the 60 percent threshold were red, meaning they “failed.”
“Medical schools should fear a failing grade from the AAMC, which helps determine whether they get accredited. As a former associate dean, I can attest that when the AAMC sets priorities, administrators rush to follow them,” Goldfarb, previously served as associate dean for curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, wrote. He explained that no institution in the analysis scored less than 50 percent, meaning that medical schools are implementing at least half the woke policies asked in the assessment from the AAMC.
In the AAMC’s analysis, 100 percent of medical schools that participated have “admissions policies and practices for encouraging a diverse class of students,” also known as “affirmative action.” Also, 99 percent of medical schools have “institutional leaders active within local, regional, and national forums to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.” In the analysis, it showed that 75 percent of the institutions “advocate for policies and/or legislation at a local, state, or federal level related to its diversity, inclusion, and equity mission.”
“Quite simply, once one adopts an admissions policy that elevates race to an important factor, merit is automatically lowered as a factor,” Goldfarb told Townhall.
“Medical school admission is a zero sum game. There are two applicants for every position. If a lesser qualified student is admitted, a more qualified one has fewer options, and perhaps no options available. Inevitably this will mean less capable individuals occupying medical school graduating classes. The value of diversity of race in healthcare outcomes is not established by empirical studies,” he added.
Documents obtained by Do No Harm detailed that The Ohio State University College of Medicine audit showed a score of 93 percent, making it one of the most woke medical institutions in the United States.
Another school, the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, scored a 73 percent in the questionnaire presented by the AAMC, according to documents obtained by Do No Harm and shared with Townhall. This puts UT College of Medicine in the “yellow” category. The average score for schools that filled out the survey was 81.6 percent.
“The emphasis on woke issues in medical education and research means that only a certain worldview and mindset will be allowed,” Goldfarb explained to Townhall. “The idea of color-blind schools and workplaces was the ideal of American culture a few decades ago. Now it has been cast aside based on the postmodernist concepts of a few radical activists. Lack of freedom of thought and language threatens the very idea of an educational institution. Demanding that faculty adhere to the concepts of diversity and equity above all else is an authoritarian and Un-American idea.”
In the AAMC’s analysis, most schools reported that their leaders are active in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. Goldfarb explained to Townhall that implementing “woke” ideas into healthcare can put patients at risk.
“Woke ideas in healthcare mean discrimination against one group for the benefit of another. This might work in the economic arena to achieve transient increased economic advantage. But in healthcare, it can mean injury to one group of patients for the benefit of another group. In healthcare, the goal is not equity but rather the best healthcare and health outcomes for all patients,” he said. “What health care entities should be doing is improving access to the healthcare system for minorities, not a radical reorganization of the healthcare system to benefit one group over another.”
This month, Do No Harm shared that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered all state colleges and universities, including medical schools, to detail their work on “diversity, equity and inclusion” and Critical Race Theory. This came after Do No Harm published a comprehensive report detailing how the University of Florida College of Medicine embedded “anti-racism” into its entire Doctor of Medicine program. And, the college offered a scholarship that prohibited white students from applying.
“Kudos to Governor DeSantis for digging into this crisis,” Do No Harm wrote on its website. “It’s the first step to getting divisive and discriminatory ideology out of medical school and all of health care.”