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Issue: 901 Date: 11/29/2007
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Minorities receive lower grades in medical school
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| Graph: % of medical students in each race receiving the highest grade (A or Honors) in Pediatrics clerkship. P<.001. Trends are similar for all disciplines analyzed. Underrepresented Minorities= Black, Hispanic, native-American or native-Alaskan origin or any combination of these descriptors. |
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Contact: Katherine B. Lee, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, leeka@msnotes.wustl.edu
Source: "Making the Grade:" Noncognitive Predictors of Medical Students' Clinical Clerkship GradesPublication Information: Journal of the National Medical Association, October 2007, Volume 99, No 10, Pages 1138-1150. http://www.nmanet.org/images/uploads/Journal/OC1138.pdf
Summary:Minorities receive lower grades in medical school than Whites, according to a new study.
Medical school consists of two years of classroom learning where achievement is measured by written exams. Then, students enter two years of hands-on training in the hospital, called clinical clerkships, where they experience various disciplines such as internal medicine, surgery, and pediatrics. During these final years, grades are largely determined by comments and ratings from observing physicians.
Hispanics, Blacks, and Native Americans, typically considered "Under-Represented Minorities" in medicine by the Association of American Medical Colleges, report lower grades than Whites during these final years of medical school. Asians also report receiving lower grades than Whites. The study also found that male gender and older age were associated with lower grades in some clinical clerkship disciplines.
The study is based on data from more than 2,300 medical students from 105 medical schools nationwide. The report, which represents the first of its kind, was conducted by investigators at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego.
The results indicate that White medical students may receive higher grades from observing physicians for being more assertive. Minority medical students, who were less assertive according to data in the study, may receive lower grades because their communication styles and cultural values differ from the physicians evaluating them.
Lack of diversity in the physician workforce has consistently been cited as an obstacle to eliminating healthcare disparities.
"Particularly alarming is the possibility that institutionalized biases exist which affect the grades of minority medical students and the career advancement of minority physicians," said report co-author and Washington University medical student Katherine B. Lee. "This study highlights the lack of cultural awareness of the medical community which ultimately may be detrimental to patient care."
Go here to download the full article: http://www.nmanet.org/images/uploads/Journal/OC1138.pdf
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