A new JAMA Network Open paper urges medical schools and policymakers to use “alternative strategies” to preserve racial diversity after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against the use of affirmative action.
But such strategies could still function as race-based preferences if used to engineer specific racial outcomes, according to an expert.
The authors, led by Dr. Natalie Florescu, found racial diversity in medical school matriculation decreased after the Supreme Court confirmed that affirmative action is tantamount to illegal racial discrimination. Black and Hispanic students both matriculated around 11 percent less than years prior, while Asian and white students saw an increase.
Dr. Florescu, who is affiliated with both Temple University’s medical school and the University of Vermont Medical Center, said the decision “coincided with declines in medical school diversity, threatening progress toward health care equity and highlighting the need for alternative strategies to promote representation.”