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‘Discriminatory and divisive DEI ideology has no place in medical education,’ watchdog says

The Association of American Medical Colleges continues to infuse “diversity, equity, and inclusion” ideology into medical education despite scrubbing DEI programs and commitments from its website, a medical advocacy group found.

Two experts told The College Fix that DEI in medical schools jeopardizes funding, lowers standards for students, and damages trust in doctors.

A recent report from Do No Harm states the Association of American Medical Colleges has recently “taken steps to remove dozens of the more explicit and overt endorsements of DEI from its website” following President Donald Trump’s executive order tackling this ideology.

However, these changes “have largely been cosmetic,” as many of the medical education group’s DEI resources and programs are still active, “including ones that discriminate on the basis of race,” the report states.

For example, the AAMC changed its “Diversity in Medical School Admissions” webpage, which once supported DEI and criticized the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard ruling against race-based admissions, to a new page called “Equal Opportunity in Medical School Admissions.”

This new page states diversity is still a good goal, “but pursuit of that goal must be fair and free from any unlawful discrimination.”

Meanwhile, the AAMC’s Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine, created to increase the amount of black men in the medical field, continues to operate. Likewise, the association’s Medical Minority Applicant Registry remains available on the organization’s website.

The College Fix contacted the AAMC twice via email and once via voicemail for comments on these initiatives, but has not heard back.

A Do No Harm medical director told The Fix that while the group has done some work to erase its DEI endorsements, more needs to be done in order “to promote a merit-based approach within medical education.”

“With its influence in shaping academic standards, the AAMC has a duty to champion academic excellence in medicine, free of any political ideology,” Kurt Miceli, who is a medical doctor, told The Fix via email.

MORE: Federal bill would defund medical schools that ‘force’ DEI on students

“Discriminatory and divisive DEI ideology has no place in medical education, where merit and excellence must be first and foremost,” he said.

He also told The Fix federal law and the Students for Fair Admissions ruling are clear that “racially biased admissions are illegal.”

To violate federal or state laws could result in an institution losing funding from the government, Miceli said.

In addition, he said DEI has become “embedded in organizational structure and culture,” for many medical institutions.

Fully eradicating the ideology will take more action than solely removing certain language from an institution’s website, Miceli said.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education is also clinging to many of its DEI programs, he said. While it has paused enforcement of two major “diversity” requirements, he said further action is needed since DEI remains prevalent within the organization.

Similarly, Heartland Institute senior fellow S.T. Karnick told The Fix via email the AAMC has not done enough to restore trust in medical education.

“The entire purpose of DEI initiatives in medical school is to sidestep achievement standards by discouraging highly qualified people from choosing medical school,” he said.

This results in people who may be considered “unqualified for medical training” to enter into those programs, Karnick said.

Additionally, medical schools “lower their academic standards to ensure success for these less-qualified students.” This is unfair to the public, Karnick said.

“The system naturally undermines trust in the abilities of practitioners who graduate from these programs,” he told The Fix.

“The AAMC is doing a disservice to doctors and patients and is undermining support for the medical schools it supposedly serves,” he said.

MORE: Top medical schools teach ‘weight inclusivity,’ racial justice: report

IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Informational video on AAMC’s Black Men in Medicine initiative; Association of American Medical Colleges

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