Submission ID 78125
| Code | OB-2-3 |
|---|---|
| At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: | |
| Category | Medical Education |
| Type | Oral |
| Will the presenter be a: | Fellow |
| Title | Appraising Bias in Medical School Admissions: A Scoping Review |
| Background/Purpose | Medical schools realize their social accountability mandate through engaging in education practices and policies that promote health care systems that are relevant, of high quality, cost-effective, and equitable. This starts with the admissions process. However, evidence suggests that implicit biases in the current admissions systems constrain access to the profession for some groups in the population (e.g., Khan et al., 2020). Here we present a scoping review of the nature and extent of evidence on systemic bias in the selection methods that medical schools employ during admissions. |
| Methods | Following Arksey and O'Malley (2005), we conducted a scoping review of published English-language research between 2000 and 2022, which presents empirical evidence of differential association between applicants' social identity and their performance on medical school selection methods and/or gaining access to medical education. |
| Results | Preliminary findings point to unwarranted bias within several commonly employed selection tools which negatively impacts individuals who identify with a wide range of social identities (e.g., being female, being a visible minority, having lower socioeconomic status). Some tools demonstrate greater group differences than others. In organizing the outcomes of the review, possible sources of bias are summarized. |
| Discussion | The evidence presented in research highlights the presence of unwarranted social biases associated in medical school admissions systems, which negatively impacts access to the profession for aspirants via the intersection of age, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. We advocate for innovative research towards the development of equitable selection systems. |
| Keyword 1 | inequity |
| Keyword 2 | medical school admissions |
| Keyword 3 | social identity |
| Abstract content most relevant to: (check all that apply) | Undergraduate Medical Education |
| Abstract Track - First Choice | Admissions |
| Authors | Thuy-Anh Ngo Thuy-Anh Ngo Anjali Menezes Alexander MacIntosh Jason Profetto Lawrence Grierson Joshua Choi |
