Exploring institutional stratification: Minority‐serving institutional pathways to medical school acceptance in the United States.
Saved in:
| Title: | Exploring institutional stratification: Minority‐serving institutional pathways to medical school acceptance in the United States. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Burbage, Amanda K., Hewitt, Eushekia Y. |
| Source: | Medical Education. Jun2025, Vol. 59 Issue 6, p640-651. 12p. |
| Subjects: | Minority students, Logistic regression analysis, Descriptive statistics, Medical schools, School admission, Minorities, COVID-19 pandemic, Cultural pluralism, Social classes, Labor supply |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | Introduction: Recruiting and training a diverse pool of physicians from historically excluded groups is vital to solving complex scientific problems and increasing access to patient care. Disparate educational and health outcomes of COVID‐19 amplified this need. In stratified higher education systems, underfunded institutions that serve greater numbers of underrepresented in medicine (URM) students face unique barriers to entering physician training. However, pathways from historically underfunded minority‐serving institutions (MSIs) in the United States to medical school (MD) are not well understood. Method: A hierarchical logistic regression analysis of 328 488 de‐identified applicants to US MD‐granting medical schools for academic years 2017–2018 through 2022–2023 was used to determine predictors of acceptance based on MSI attendance compared to predominantly White institutions (PWI) and other literature‐informed predictors. An interrupted time series analysis determined the significance in changes in observed differences in application acceptance before and after the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results: In model 1, MSI attendance was associated with significantly lower odds of acceptance, with a 42% to 52% chance of acceptance compared to PWI applicants. Adding MCAT and GPA significantly increased odds of acceptance for most MSI applicants in model 2. MSI attendance, MCAT, GPA and socio‐economic status indicators were useful predictors, improving the acceptance model by 39% better than the null model. Although some predictors showed a change in odds over time, none changed significantly when comparing before and after COVID‐19. Discussion: MSI attending students were less likely to be admitted to MD programmes, highlighting systemic stratification until other academic factors were introduced to the model that alleviated lower odds, and the COVID‐19 pandemic did not substantially change these trends. Improved pathways and strengthened institutional relationships between institutions that have greater proportions of underrepresented students and medical schools may help improve MSI applicant odds furthering diversity within the physician‐trained workforce. The authors report that students attending minority serving institutions (MSI) were less likely to be admitted to MD programs until MCAT and GPA alleviated the MSI penalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Medical Education is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
Be the first to leave a comment!
