A comprehensive report by an organization that seeks to protect health care from discriminatory ideology has published a report that finds Ohio State University (OSU) College of Medicine is steeped in teaching medicine through the lens of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda and notes the school will need to examine its admissions processes to align with the Supreme Court’s recent affirmative action ruling.
The report, by Do No Harm, is released after the Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which struck down affirmative action policies in school admissions.
As a result of the ruling, it is no longer lawful for medical schools to provide any advantage or disadvantage regarding the race of students in the admissions process.
The organization’s report highlights the DEI practices at OSU College of Medicine, which include narratives such as “anti-racism” and “health equity.”
Observing OSU College of Medicine’s emphasis on a politically-inspired program approach that “leans on health equity and social justice,” Do No Harm notes the school has “an eye toward creating not only health professionals, but agents of social change.”
Consequently, the college’s use of a “health equity” agenda “distorts the practice of medicine,” the report asserts, pointing out that the school’s philosophy appears to focus on people – and, in this case, patients – as members of identity groups, rather than individuals:
Medical professionals have an ethical obligation to assess and treat patients according to their specific, personal needs. The concept of health equity, however, focuses attention on groups of people. It encourages medical professionals to treat patients as members of a group rather than individuals.
“Do No Harm’s new comprehensive report on The Ohio State University College of Medicine raises critical questions about the school’s fixation on the divisive concept of anti-racism and its impact on the integrity of future physicians,” Laura Morgan, the report’s author and program manager at Do No Harm, said in a statement sent to The Star News Network. “By presenting information to medical students based on an ideology that calls for ongoing discrimination, the OSU College of Medicine risks compromising the quality of medical education and, ultimately, patient care.”
According to the report, aspects of the medical school’s curriculum that are of particular concern include:
The college’s push to inculcate DEI values in students, starting from the admissions process:
“Recruiting materials tell would-be students about various university and college offices that promote social justice,” the report notes. “They also advise students that the college will treat them differently based on their race or ethnicity, with certain programs and financial supports available only to members of favored groups.”
The assertion that students are naturally biased:
“Members of the admissions committee as well as faculty members are subjected to implicit bias training, using an assessment tool — the Implicit Association Test — that does not satisfy fundamental standards for scientific validity,” Do No Harm observes.
Questionable and one-sided sources as integral parts of the curriculum:
“The college recommends a panoply of books, podcasts and other materials,” including the widely discredited 1619 Project of the New York Times, “which asserts that the United States was conceived in and gave birth to racism,” the report states, and other sources such as Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility, and Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Anti-Racist.
“Considering the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on affirmative action, OSUCOM and other leading institutions must closely examine their priorities in making their admissions processes align with meritocracy and equality, not radical identity politics like anti-racism,” Morgan said.
The Star News Network contacted OSU College of Medicine for comment and is awaiting a response.
– – –
Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Wexner Medical Center” by Jsjessee. CC BY-SA 2.0.
