Minorities in Medical School

In the United States, all medical schools are non-discriminating in their acceptance of new students: they give an equal opportunity for both white and minority applicants. However, while grades of the two main groups are on par throughout most of the educational periods, there is a noted difference when it comes to the medical school years. The groups that we are focusing on are mainly Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians.

The first two years of medical school involve mainly intense and in-depth test-taking, while the third and fourth years involve more hands-on situational work. While there is not much of a difference between medical school performance between the white medical school student population and the minority medical school student population throughout the first two years of this schooling period, there is a reportedly significantly greater difference in grades during the third and fourth years.

The difference, says many researchers of the topic, lies in the cultural values and habits of the two mentioned groups. While the white students observe and therefore imitate the assertiveness of doctors in the real life situation, the minority groups lack in their exertion of assertiveness, especially during these critical training periods.

Cultural terminology defines this situation as power distance. In certain cultures, the populations regard their authority figures with considerably more power than themselves. As a result, they are brought up to act a certain way towards all authority figures, including doctors. For example, if a doctor makes a mistake and the mistake is evident to the minority groups, then the chances that they will actually speak up and correct the doctor are noticeably less, as opposed to the white population, who will immediately point out the error.

In order to correct this problem, which affects the minority group from succeeding to a certain point, it is essential for the medical community to raise their awareness of cultural differences. If this issue is targeted directly and brought up to all involved parties, then minorities can be properly educated in all aspects of being a doctor – especially that involving doctor-student relationships.