Do No Harm launches center to rank medical schools on merit over DEI politics
Do No Harm launched the Center for Accountability in Medicine to track DEI policies at U.S. medical schools.
Its first report, the Medical School Excellence Index, ranks schools on academic rigor, transparency, and avoidance of identity politics, highlighting top and bottom performers.
The nonprofit organization Do No Harm has launched a new initiative dedicated to tracking the prevalence of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies at American medical schools.
On Sept. 24, Do No Harm announced that it had launched the Center for Accountability in Medicine, which is aimed at highlighting medical institutions that prioritize merit over ideology.
The center’s first report, the Medical School Excellence Index, ranks U.S. medical schools based on academic rigor, transparency, and avoidance of divisive identity politics.
The top-ranked schools reflect these principles, with the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine earning a perfect 100 points.
[RELATED: Nation’s largest medical residency accreditor closes DEI department, retires mandates]
The lowest-ranked schools, by contrast, score just 18 points. These include the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and Central Michigan University College of Medicine.
“They do not prioritize academic excellence in admissions, dedicate administrative resources to divisive, harmful, and regressive DEI practices, and broadcast an institutional commitment to identity politics that is antithetical to a commitment to excellence in clinical practice,” Do No Harm explained in the report.
UC Davis in particular “earned 0 points for its mission statement, meaning the statement reflected the strongest commitment possible to DEI,” the report said.
The school’s mission statement begins by affirming its intent to provide “excellent learner-centered education to a diverse body of medical students and graduate students.”
Ian Kingsbury, the director of the Center for Accountability in Medicine, lauded the Medical School Excellence Index as “urgently needed” to fight “the tide of wokeness in healthcare.”
“To eliminate DEI’s divisive influence in medicine, we must recognize medical schools that focus on excellence and expose those that promote political activism,” Kingsbury stated.
”The Center advances Do No Harm’s mission of ensuring patients, not politics, remain the top priority of the institutions training our future medical professionals.”
[RELATED: Harvard ends long-running minority recruitment program following federal DEI crackdown]
During the Trump administrations, some medical schools have taken steps away from DEI practices and policies.
This summer, Harvard Medical School renamed its DEI office to the “Office for Culture and Community Engagement.” Dean George Daley said the change reflected evolving priorities.
Additionally, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) shut down its DEI department and removed all DEI requirements from accreditation standards. The move followed federal directives barring DEI mandates.
Campus Reform has contacted the UC Davis School of Medicine for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
