How Should Lived Experience of Racism Count in Medical School Admissions?

Abstract

There are fewer Black men in US medical schools today than in 1970. This and other kinds of ongoing inequity express the systemic racism Black Americans face in health care. Increasing Black physician representation in medicine is key to motivating health equity, so many colleges and universities have developed programs to recruit and retain students with minoritized identities. This article suggests how Black medical school applicants’ lived experiences of racism can contribute prominently to building medicine’s capacity to promote healing and health equity.