Read on Twitter
How did one of the most monumental moments in #MedEd history drastically decrease the number of Black doctors? Let’s look at the impact of the Flexner report and medical school demographics. #BWMTakeover - CN
Before 1865, many Black doctors received their medical education abroad while a few Black students were admitted to schools in the East (like Harvard, Yale and Penn).
Dr. David J Peck was the first Black student to graduate from a school up north (Rush Med School).
Dr. David J Peck was the first Black student to graduate from a school up north (Rush Med School).
Of note, there were about 54,000 doctors in the country in the late 1860s. Only 300 of them are women, and only one of those women is Black - Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler #BWMTakeover
By 1910, there were seven med schools created for Black students:
Howard University Medical School, est. 1868
Meharry Medical College, est. 1876
Leonard Medical School (Shaw Uni), 1882-1914
New Orleans University Medical College, 1887-1911
(Renamed Flint Medical College)
Howard University Medical School, est. 1868
Meharry Medical College, est. 1876
Leonard Medical School (Shaw Uni), 1882-1914
New Orleans University Medical College, 1887-1911
(Renamed Flint Medical College)
Knoxville College Medical Department, 1895-1900
(Became Knoxville Medical College in 1900 and closed in 1910)
Chattanooga National Medical College, 1902-1908
University of West Tennessee College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1904-1923
(Became Knoxville Medical College in 1900 and closed in 1910)
Chattanooga National Medical College, 1902-1908
University of West Tennessee College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1904-1923
“In 1895, there were 385 African-American doctors, only 7 percent from white medical schools. In 1905, there were 1,465 African-American doctors, only 14.5 percent from white medical schools...
... Almost 2,400 physicians were graduated from Howard and Meharry medical schools from 1890 to the end of WWI” https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/blackhistorymonth/education
1910 - Here comes the Flexner report that urged the use of a biomedical model to train physicians. Using Hopkins as a reference, the report recommends that students spend the first two years in basic lab science before moving to the hospital.
Quality of students was assured by requiring that students receive a university of education prior to admission to med school.
Flexner report wrote that 5 out of the 7 schools were “in no position to make any contribution of value to the solution of the [Negro health] problem”
It goes on to say that these schools are “sending out undisciplined men, whose lack of real training is covered up by the imposing MD degree” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6111265/
Howard University School of Medicine and Meharry Medical School remained. In the 1920s, the MCAT was introduced and this further contributed to the achievement gaps in med ed. There is a huge gap in the education of Black medical students until the Civil Rights movement
In 2013, HBCUs represented 3% of all degree granting institutions in the nation, yet represented 17% of the colleges supplying the most Black applicants to med school. Howard and Xavier remain the top two schools sending Black applicants to med school.
https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2019-11/2019_FACTS_Table_A-2.1.pdf
https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2019-11/2019_FACTS_Table_A-2.1.pdf
Approx 1,250 Black Students graduated from US Med Schools last year. About 5% of active physicians in the US identify as Black.
MedEd is failing to educate enough Black Drs
MedEd is responsible for historically cutting off the pipeline of Black Drs
#MedEd must do better - CN
MedEd is failing to educate enough Black Drs
MedEd is responsible for historically cutting off the pipeline of Black Drs
#MedEd must do better - CN
Sources
https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/blackhistorymonth/education
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5909952/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3178858/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6111265/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicaleducation/87171
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/13/podcasts/1619-slavery-healthcare.html?showTranscript=1
https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/blackhistorymonth/education
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5909952/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3178858/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6111265/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicaleducation/87171
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/13/podcasts/1619-slavery-healthcare.html?showTranscript=1
