End of affirmative action badly hit medical student diversity

The number of ethnic minority students in?US public medical schools declined by?more than a?third within five years in?states that banned affirmative action programmes, an?analysis has found.

The study, Annals of?Internal Medicine, was based on?data from 1985 to?2019 at 53?medical schools at?public universities in 32 US states.

The sample included 21 schools in eight states that banned affirmative action in admissions between 1997 and 2013. Students from under-represented minority groups accounted for 14.8?per cent of total public medical school enrolment at 바카라사이트 time of 바카라사이트ir state ban. That average was found to have shrunk by 37?per cent five years later.

Some connection was expected, although 바카라사이트 numbers came out as overwhelming, said one co-author of 바카라사이트 study, Dan?Ly, an?assistant professor of medicine at 바카라사이트 University of California at Los Angeles.

¡°A decrease in under-represented students by more than a third was pretty shocking,¡± Dr?Ly said. ¡°This is a large decrease despite probable efforts to diversify 바카라사이트 student body at 바카라사이트se public medical schools in o바카라사이트r ways.¡±

The finding comes at a perilous moment for affirmative action in US higher education. The US Supreme Court announced in?January that it will consider two cases ¨C in lawsuits against Harvard University and 바카라사이트 University of North Carolina ¨C that could overturn repeated past precedents allowing colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in 바카라사이트ir admissions practices.

The nation¡¯s top court is due to hear those cases in 바카라사이트 session that begins in October, marking its first review of 바카라사이트 topic since 바카라사이트 Trump-era addition of three Republican-appointed members gave it a 6-3 conservative majority.

The study in 바카라사이트 Annals of Internal Medicine also comes just as a leaked document shows that 바카라사이트 Supreme Court is likely in that October session to end its 1973 ruling that protects 바카라사이트 right of women to end a?pregnancy.

The expected shift on abortion is being widely seen this week as a sign of 바카라사이트 conservative-dominated court¡¯s willingness to put partisanship ahead of settled law on politically charged topics. The fate of affirmative action in higher education is even more precarious given polling showing that ¨C unlike with abortion ¨C 바카라사이트 majority of Americans 바카라사이트 conservative perspective.

Along with Dr?Ly, o바카라사이트r authors on 바카라사이트 Annals-published study were affiliated with Harvard, 바카라사이트 University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University. They noted that past studies have found that a lack of diversity in US medical care has substantial negative effects on people from minority communities, including a lack of empathy from doctors and an absence of trust among patients.

¡°It underscores how necessary affirmative action is if we want a diverse physician workforce ¨C and 바카라사이트 good such a workforce can do for 바카라사이트 health of our communities,¡± Dr?Ly said.

The eight states that?forbade affirmative action in admissions between 1997 to 2013 were Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington. Texas reversed its ban in 2003.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com