Commentary

The Medical College of Wisconsin Scrubs Discriminatory Language From a Student Elective Program

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • April 4, 2023
  • Medical College of Wisconsin

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) has removed specific race/ethnicity eligibility criteria from one of its programs.

Last year we reported that Do No Harm had filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) against MCW for its 2022 Visiting Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Student Elective Program (archived page). Acceptance into the program required applicants to “be a member of a group that is recognized as racially/ethnically URiM by MCW: Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Black/African American, Native American, and Hmong/Hmong American.” This requirement is a violation of Title VI of the civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibit discrimination based on race/ethnicity.

Figure 1. Flyer for the 2022 Visiting URiM Student Elective program at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Fast forward to the 2023 version of this program, and MCW has quietly updated the eligibility criteria for applicants. The new target population is fourth-year med students “who are from or have lived experience engaging people in underserved communities in the United States.”

Figure 2. Flyer for the 2023 Visiting URiM Student Elective program at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

MCW took this action despite no formal investigation being opened by the OCR.

If your college or university is offering or promoting discriminatory scholarships or programs in the health professions, Do No Harm wants to hear from you.