In what can only be described as a further effort to wokify the medical industry, elite schools have become more focused on foisting principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on those attending their institutions. Indeed, a recent report exposed the reality that this effort is now starting at the beginning of the school admissions process.
The report, which was compiled by Do No Harm, a nonprofit pushing back against the enforcement of woke theology in the medical field, reviewed the admissions process at a number of medical schools and found that they appear to be screening out potential students based on their political views. The authors wrote:
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. Many were overt in asking applicants if they agreed with certain statements about racial politics and the causes of disparate health outcomes.
This focus on identity politics is not limited to elite medical schools. Schools outside the top-ranked tier are also probing for information about candidates’ attitudes toward race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and more. The goal, it appears, is to turn ideological support for health equity and social justice initiatives into a credential that increases an applicant’s chance of acceptance, to screen out dissenters, and to signal to all applicants that they are expected to support this new cause.
Do No Harm found that the majority of medical schools’ websites directed users to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) to obtain guidance on applying. The AAMC’s applicant guide explains to users that medical schools employ a “holistic review,” which involves a wide range of criteria that “promote numerous aspects of diversity.”
As an example, the guide notes that “race and ethnicity may be considered as factors when making admission-related decisions only when aligned with mission-related educational interests and goals associated with student diversity.”
The review found that 72 percent of the top 50 institutions and 80 percent of the top-ten schools employ “probing questions to elicit responses from the applicant about his or her views on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics.”
“Some medical schools take a subtler approach by requesting autobiographical or socioeconomic information or by asking applicants to self-identify with particular demographic labels. But some institutions explicitly question applicants about their positions on, and commitments to, racial identity politics and institutional initiatives related to DEI,” according to the report.
As an example, Duke University asks the following question of applicants:
Potential sources of health inequities include race, gender, education, income, disability, geographic location, and sexual orientation. Moments to Movement (M2M) is Duke’s collective stand against systemic racism and injustice. The name signifies going beyond passive moments of reflection and becoming more active as we build to make lasting change for our patients, their loved ones and each other. Describe your understanding of race and its relationship to inequities in health and health care.
The hard left is injecting its radical ideology into as many American institutions as possible. But the possibility that medical schools are screening students based on their views on race and other issues is chilling. This is especially true considering this report comes after Project Veritas exposed an assistant principal in New York City who openly admitted to discriminating against conservative teachers applying for positions in his school based on their political views.
Conservatives have to find a way to push back against this. There is already a growing trend of cancel culture affecting people at their schools and jobs. But it’s looking like progressives are trying to enforce their ideology on those applying for various positions. We do not want to see a world in which major companies, schools, and other institutions are allowed to discriminate against folks simply because they are not in line with woke dogma.