Commentary

UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Scores an A+ on the DICE Inventory: “We Chase Equity”

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • March 12, 2023
  • University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine

Just how woke is California’s David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)? Very woke indeed, as it just confirmed to Do No Harm.

Here’s the background. In November 2022, the Association of American Medical Colleges released a report showing that the vast majority of medical schools have embraced identity politics, despite their divisive and even discriminatory nature. The report was based on surveys of specific medical schools, which the AAMC didn’t name.

For the sake of transparency and accountability, Do No Harm submitted freedom of information requests to public medical schools nationwide, including the DGSOM. We asked for a copy of its survey response, so that California taxpayers and policymakers could learn the truth about this institution.

Here’s what the DGSOM has self-reported:

  • It has adopted racially discriminatory admissions practices under the guise of “affirmative action.”This means it’s potentially lowering standards in the name of diversity, thereby threatening patient health. The school provided a link to a webpage on “basis of selection,” but that link is broken. The Review Process page states that DGSOM is “working to systematically uphold excellence and equity” by using a holistic review process, and illustrates the current Basis of Selection information.
Figure 1. Basis of Selection criteria for admission to the DGSOM.
  • It has a “dedicated office, staff, or resources” dedicated to DEI. This means there’s a permanent woke bureaucracy pushing ideology on faculty and students. The office of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) at DGSOM provides medical students with an “anti-racism roadmap” that contains eleven focus areas. The dean made a pledge of $5 million at the kickoff for this initiative, which “symbolizes an institutional commitment to eradicating structural racism.” And, as we reported last year, faculty and staff are required to take DEI training.
Figure 2. From the Anti-Racism Roadmap” page at DGSOM.
  • It lobbies for woke policies at the federal, state, and/or local levels. This means it’s wading into toxic public debates instead of fully focusing on educating future physicians.
  • It offers tenure and promotion to faculty who prove their commitment to extreme identity politics and woke priorities.This is a litmus test that requires faculty to toe the party line instead of teaching medicine at the highest level. The Academic Personnel Manual clearly states, “Contributions to teaching, scholarship, and service that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion are encouraged and should be given due recognition during the faculty merit and promotion process.”
  • Its administrators are active within local, regional, and national forums to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion.This means it’s wasting resources that would be better spent on real medical education. “In our community, diversity is more than a buzzword,” says the school. “It’s the foundation for our clinical excellence.”
Figure 3. UCLA Geffen School of Medicine DICE Inventory overall score.

All told, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has instituted 98.8% of the divisive and discriminatory woke policies listed by the AAMC. And you can bet it is feeling pressure from activists and outside groups to go even further down the radical rabbit hole – doing even more damage to faculty, medical students, and ultimately, the millions of patients they’ll see.

California taxpayers help fund UCLA. They, and the policymakers who represent them, should ask why they’re giving so much money to an institution that’s putting divisive and discriminatory ideology at the heart of medical education. More importantly, they should ensure the David Geffen School of Medicine stops, and soon.