Press Release

New Do No Harm Report Reveals How Accreditors Inject DEI Into Medicine

  • By Do No Harm Staff
  • March 18, 2025

RICHMOND, VA; March 18, 2025 – Today, Do No Harm published a report titled, “Unethical Expectations: How Accreditors Inject Identity Politics into Medical and Healthcare Education.” The report highlights 10 accreditors for medical and healthcare education that impose DEI requirements and/or reference the value of “diversity” in their accreditation standards.

These standards range from explicitly requiring DEI offices to indirectly encouraging diversity-related outcomes.

The 10 offending accreditors include:

  • The Liaison Committee on Medical Education 
  • Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education 
  • American Association of Colleges of Nursing 
  • American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation
  • American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation
  • American Podiatric Medical Association Council on Podiatric Medical Accreditation
  • Accreditation Council on Optometric Education
  • Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
  • American Psychological Association Commission on Accreditation
  • American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education

For instance, the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) standards, which set requirements for osteopathic medical education programs that grant Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degrees, explicitly require dedicated DEI programs and offices for colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) to be accredited.

“Our new report shines a much-needed light on the all-powerful actors in healthcare education,” said Dr. Kurt Miceli, Medical Director at Do No Harm. “Wielding unchecked control, accreditors have long had the ability to force member institutions to comply with their standards. Over the past decade, their shift toward political and social activism has furthered the imposition of DEI requirements on these graduate medical and healthcare education programs. Applicants, students, and patients are now paying the price. If these governing bodies want to earn back the public’s trust, they must depoliticize their standards and focus on prioritizing expertise and high-quality care in the institutions they accredit.”

To read the full report, click here.

Do No Harm, established in April 2022, has rapidly gained recognition and made significant strides in its mission to safeguard healthcare from ideological threats. With 16,000 members, including doctors, nurses, physicians, and concerned citizens across all 50 states and 14 countries, DNH has achieved over 10,000 media hits in top-tier publications and garnered widespread attention through numerous broadcast news appearances.