Increasing Underrepresented Minority Students in Medical School: a Single-Institution Experience

Purpose Underrepresented minority student recruitment initiatives from medical school admissions and diversity offices can bring equity for those learners underrepresented in medicine. Measuring growth of the applicant pool helps determine the impact of such initiatives in helping diversify the healthcare workforce. Aim The authors evaluated underrepresented minority applicant pool growth at the Brody School of Medicine to determine whether predominantly White institutions or historically Black colleges and universities have accounted for the most growth in minority applicants in recent years. Methods Outreach outcomes across the state were obtained by comparing applicant and matriculant demographics. Data on all applicants and matriculants were retrieved from the school’s institutional records and classified according to student self-identification as underrepresented minority. Using Chi-square tests, authors aimed to determine whether the proportion of minority students increased among applicants and matriculants since 2016, the year of restructuring outreach. In further analysis, the number of graduates from historically Black colleges and universities as compared to minority graduates from predominantly White schools was evaluated. Results The authors identified 7,848 applicants and 654 matriculants over the evaluation period. The proportion of learners identifying as underrepresented minority increased from 17% before 2016 (622/3,672) to 20% after 2016 (835/4,176; p = 0.001). The proportion of applicants who did not graduate from a historically Black college or university increased slightly after 2016 (89% of underrepresented minority applicants before 2016 vs. 92% of underrepresented minority applicants after 2016), but this increase was not statistically significant ( p = 0.097). Conclusion Applicant growth has been more significant for underrepresented minority applicants from predominantly White institutions. Graduates of targeted historically Black colleges and universities who applied to Brody School of Medicine were better prepared, resulting in increased chances of admission.