January 7, 2008

Report Says Medical Students Remain Predominantly Wealthy

Efforts by medical schools to achieve more economic diversity in their enrollments “have made little or no progress,” according to an analysis published this month by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

In fact, the analysis found, the share of students at the nation’s medical schools who come from the wealthiest fifth of society actually appears to be on the rise, growing from 50.8 percent in 2000 to 55.2 percent in 2005, the most recent year examined. More than three-fourths of entering medical-school students came from the wealthiest two-fifths of society in 2005, the analysis found.

The analysis, based on family-income data reported by students, says the poorest fifth of society never accounted for more than 5.5 percent of matriculating medical-school students during the period covered, from 1987 through 2005.

The report says the lack of economic diversity in medical-school enrollments is partly due to a similar lack of diversity at the colleges that feed medical schools many of their students. It also notes that the median debt incurred by medical students hit the $140,000 mark in 2007 and is rising faster than physicians’ incomes, with one likely result being that medical education “is becoming increasingly out of reach for applicants of modest means.” —Peter Schmidt

Comments

1. The concluding question of my med school interview… “How are you going to pay for it?” It is a realistic concern. The debt one will incur requires, more than ever, that prospective students understand that they’ll (in nearly all cases) need to see their education through in order to pay off their loans. That is, of course, unless they have some deep pockets at home.

   This article also made me think about having a “family trade,” so to speak. I, too, hope to see the health care industry (as impersonal as that sounds) become more diverse. At the same time, I’d like to see some statistics regarding how many children of health care workers (physicians or otherwise) go into health care. It seems a logical choice for many, as they have seen their parents do well in their chosen profession (which might put their family in the wealthiest two-fifths). They have money (in most cases). They’ve been around the lifestyle. Are they actually more inclined to go into health care? I don’t know, but I would guess that it could be the case. Now, does that have drastic implications on the types of students going to medical school? I think it certainly could, but I’m not sold just yet.

   — Brian    Jan 7, 04:27 PM    #

2. I wonder if anyone has similar statistics on other professions? Most humanities faculty earn less than bartenders. See the 5-minute “Faculty on Food Stamps” video at http://howtheuniversityworks.com

   — Marc Bousquet    Jan 8, 11:14 AM    #

3. The path to a medical degree requires an extraordinary intellect nurtured by excellent schooling. The rich have an abundance of excellent schools. It also requires an enormous amount of cultural capital. The rich have an abundance of cultural capital. What you won’t find very many of in medical school are highly intelligent students who came from neighborhoods with substandard schools and little cultural capital. Like caught in quicksand, there even the strongest minds are pulled under.

   — marci    Jan 8, 12:12 PM    #

4. In my culture, doctors are highly respected precisely because they are viewed as benevolent—providing care to even the poorest members of society who often cannot afford their fees. It is sad to think that in this country only the wealthy will be able to provide this service. I wonder, are there no scholarships out there for promising med students? Perhaps that would be one way to change the pipeline.

   — madame smartypants    Jan 8, 05:53 PM    #

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