Posted on September 5, 2022

Top Med Schools Weed Out DEI-Skeptical Applicants, New Report Finds

Isaac Schorr, National Review, September 1, 2022

The best medical schools in the country are weeding out applicants who are insufficiently devoted to the leftist creed of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), according to a new report released by the non-profit Do No Harm.

Do No Harm, a nonprofit dedicated to “protect[ing] healthcare from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology,” conducted an analysis of medical school application processes which found that these selective institutions are raising an additional barrier to entry on top of the strenuous testing and grade requirements.

“A review of the admissions process at 50 of the top-ranked medical schools found that 36 asked applicants their views on, or experience in, DEI efforts,” reads the Do No Harm report {snip}

According to the report, medical schools are asking these questions in order to “turn ideological support for health equity and social justice initiatives into a credential that increases an applicant’s chance of acceptance,” “screen out dissenters,” and “signal to all applicants that they are expected to support this new cause.”

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The questions identified in the report vary in their implicit assumptions and the extent to which they probe applicants. {snip}

Others are more direct. The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, for example, professes to be interested in combating all forms of systemic barriers” and entreats applicants to share their “thoughts on opposing… systemic racism, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, and misogyny.”

“How will you contribute?” the application asks.

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School asks prospective attendees to “describe an interaction or experience that has made you more sensitive or appreciative of cultural differences, and/ or how you have committed yourself to understanding and aiding in the pursuit of equity and inclusion in your academic, professional or personal life.”

At the University of Minnesota, applicants are first told that “our country is reckoning with its history, racism, racial injustice, and especially anti-black racism.” Then they’re asked to share their “reflections on, experiences with, and greatest lessons learned about systemic racism.”

And at the University of Miami, applicants are bluntly queried about what they have “done to help identify, address and correct an issue of systemic discrimination?” {snip}

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