The Many Missions of Medical Schools
Authors: Lawrence G. Smith
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2010)

Editorials15 June 2010The Many Missions of Medical SchoolsLawrence G. Smith, MD and Veronica M. Catanese, MD, MBALawrence G. Smith, MDFrom Hofstra University School of Medicine, in partnership with North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Hempstead, NY 11549.Search for more papers by this author and Veronica M. Catanese, MD, MBAFrom Hofstra University School of Medicine, in partnership with North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Hempstead, NY 11549.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-152-12-201006150-00012 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail In this issue, Mullan and colleagues (1) propose a new “social mission” metric by which to assess and rank medical schools. In their rationale for proposing such a metric, they call attention to 2 gaps: one between the supply of and the demand for physicians providing primary health care to underserved populations, and the other between the percentage of the workforce comprising physicians from racial and ethnic minority groups that are underrepresented in medicine and the percentage of the population comprising these same minority groups. Because data (2, 3) suggest that underrepresented minority physicians provide more care to underrepresented minority ...References1. Mullan F, Chen C, Petterson S, Kolsky G, Spagnola M. The social mission of medical education: ranking the schools. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152:804-11. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Council on Graduate Medical Education. Minorities in Medicine: An Ethnic and Cultural Challenge for Physician Training, An Update. Council on Graduate Medical Education Seventeenth Report. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2005. Google Scholar3. Komaromy M, Grumbach K, Drake M, Vranizan K, Lurie N, Keane D, et al. The role of black and Hispanic physicians in providing health care for underserved populations. N Engl J Med. 1996;334:1305-10. [PMID: 8609949] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Freeman J, Ferrer RL, Greiner KA. Viewpoint: developing a physician workforce for America's disadvantaged. Acad Med. 2007;82:133-8. [PMID: 17264689] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Association of American Medical Colleges. Diversity in the Physician Workforce: Facts and Figure 2006. Washington, DC: Assoc American Med Colleges; 2006. Google Scholar6. Sullivan LW, Suez Mittman I. The state of diversity in the health professions a century after Flexner. Acad Med. 2010;85:246-53. [PMID: 20107349] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Grumbach K, Mendoza R. Disparities in human resources: addressing the lack of diversity in the health professions. Health Aff (Millwood). 2008;27:413-22. [PMID: 18332497] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Association of American Medical Colleges. Association of American Medical Colleges Matriculating Student Questionnaire. Medical Education Division. Washington, DC: Assoc American Med Colleges; 2006. Google Scholar9. McGaghie WC, Thompson JA. America's best medical schools: a critique of the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Acad Med. 2001;76:985-92. [PMID: 11597837] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Hofstra University School of Medicine, in partnership with North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Hempstead, NY 11549.Disclosures: None disclosed. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M10-0919.Corresponding Author: Lawrence G. Smith, MD, Hofstra University School of Medicine in partnership with North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, 145 Hofstra University, East Library Wing, Hempstead, NY 11549; e-mail, lawrence.[email protected]edu.Current Author Addresses: Drs. Smith and Catanese: Hofstra University School of Medicine in partnership with North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, 145 Hofstra University, East Library Wing, Hempstead, NY 11549. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Social Mission of Medical Education: Ranking the Schools Fitzhugh Mullan , Candice Chen , Stephen Petterson , Gretchen Kolsky , and Michael Spagnola Metrics Cited BySocial accountability of medical schools and academic primary care training in Latin America: principles but not practicePerspective: Leveraging the Health Care Workforce: What Do We Need and What Educational System Will Get Us There?Students' Response to Disaster: A Lesson for Health Care Professional SchoolsHumberto Reyes, MD 15 June 2010Volume 152, Issue 12Page: 818-819KeywordsGraduate medical educationHealth careHispanic peopleLibrariesNative American peoplePediatricsPopulation statisticsPrimary careResearch quality assessment ePublished: 15 June 2010 Issue Published: 15 June 2010 CopyrightCopyright © 2010 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...