Eighty percent fewer minorities would have been accepted into US medical schools in 1996 without affirmative action, according to data released recently by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

In modeling what would have happened to the entering medical school class of 1996 if minority students were required to have the same level of MCAT scores and grades as white students who were accepted that year, the AAMC found that only 397 minority students, compared to the actual 1,890, would have been accepted.

"Do opponents of affirmative action really want to see this country resegregate its medical schools?" asked AAMC President, Jordan J. Cohen, MD. "That is exactly what is going to happen if they get their wish. If we had been unable to use the tool of affirmative action, only two percent of all medical students would be minorities, approximately the same dismal rate that entered medical school in the 1960s. As our country becomes ethnically and racially more and more diverse, our moral obligation is to educate a similarly diverse workforce. For the time being, affirmative action is essential for us to meet this obligation."

Gutting the diversity of medical school classes could also have a negative impact on the number of practicing physicians who are committed to helping underserved patients. "When it comes to serving patients, race matters," Dr. Cohen said. For example, 1997 minority graduates from families with incomes of $50,000 and higher expressed nearly three times more interest than non-minority graduates (40% vs. 16%) in locating their practice in an underserved area. Without affirmative action, 17,000 fewer minority physicians would now be in practice, fully 40 percent less than is currently the case.

Although minorities, on average, have lower test scores and grades when entering medical school, the vast majority meet all the rigorous requirements to become an MD. In 1997, 87 percent of the minorities that matriculated in 1990 had graduated from medical school; this figure compares favorably to that for whites (95 percent) and Asians (94 percent).

The AAMC's modeling data, which do not include historically black medical schools, are contained within the Association's "Questions and Answers on Affirmative Action in Medical Education."

The AAMC Q&A document also reiterates the fundamental importance of education reform, especially at the K-12 level, if affirmative action is ever to become unnecessary. The AAMC notes, however, that creating effective reform is becoming increasingly difficult as minority-academic enrichment programs also come under fire from affirmative action opponents.

1st appeared 4/15/98

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