Global Courant 2023-04-28 05:00:36
Doctors said medical schools should start evaluating applicants “holistically” and give significantly more weight to their grade point averages and MCAT scores to create more diversity in the medical profession, according to an article published in a medical journal.
“In decades…(we) have practiced medicine, no patient has ever asked us our GPA or MCAT score. Looking at these stats alone is a disturbing and regressive way to judge excellence – never mind the potential — of those who want to enter the profession,” the authors said in Journal of the American Medical Association on April 25.
Authors included President Dr. Holly J. Humphrey of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation – which is involved in providing medical education scholarships – and Dr. Keme Carter is a professor and physician at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
“Where have such practices taken us? Clearly, the profession of medicine has not historically trained a diverse group of people. Medical schools have struggled to admit classes of students whose identities reflect that of the public,” the article states.
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Doctors speak out against the MCAT in the Journal of the American Medical Association (YouTube/Screenshot | Adobe Stock)
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The authors emphasized that medical schools corrupt the admissions process by considering the importance of an applicant’s grades.
“(The admissions) process should not be corrupted by external factors, such as giving far too much weight in the admissions process to slightly higher but often statistically insignificant differences in GPA and MCAT scores,” the authors said.
The authors emphasized that medical schools corrupt the admissions process by considering the importance of an applicant’s grades. (iStock)
The authors listed qualities they consider important for future doctors, such as passion, curiosity, resilience and commitment to lifelong learning.
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“There is also strong evidence that medical schools can identify individuals who have the attributes, experiences and fundamental knowledge to be successful as future physicians through the holistic assessment practices,” they said.
Fox News Digital asked why the qualities sought by the American Association of Medical Colleges — which administer the MCAT — were missing, including critical thinking and intelligence, but received no response.
Hannah Grossman is an Associate Editor at Fox News Digital.
