Med School Partnership Runs Networking Event for ‘Underrepresented’ Students

A medical education is an incredible gift, and opportunities should not be denied to students based on their particular background.

Yet the Alliance of Minority Physicians (AMP), an organization that works in partnership with Penn Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, appears to think otherwise.

AMP is promoting what it refers to as its “Pathways to Excellence in Medicine Initiative,” a series of events and mentorship opportunities that is explicitly geared toward “underrepresented” students.

AMP doesn’t define this term, but both the National Institutes of Health and Association of American Medical Colleges defined the term to essentially mean black and Hispanic students.

According to a flyer advertising the program’s “Med Immersion Day,” a networking fair for prospective physicians, the program is “Designed for URiM Medical Students Across Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.”

“MS1-MS3s across Philadelphia from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine are invited to join us for this immersive experience!” a website advertising the event read. “You will have the opportunity to network with Penn/CHOP residency programs, engage in interactive programming tailored to your year in training, and be inspired by an exciting keynote speaker.”

Helping the next generation of physicians gain the skills and knowledge they require in order to be successful in their careers is a laudable goal that helps both medical students and their future patients alike. 

But when this guidance is conditioned on an applicant’s “underrepresented” status, it inherently discriminates against future medical professionals on the basis of immutable characteristics. 

Indeed, the immersion event’s green “register” button explicitly required applicants to identify their race and underrepresented group.

In addition to the “Pathways to Excellence in Medicine Initiative,” there is also a visiting clerkship program, the “Visiting Clerkship Program for Students Underrepresented in Medicine,” that provides stipends and rotation opportunities to selected students.

Earlier this year, Do No Harm sued Penn Medicine, the Consortium of DEI Health Educators, and WURD Radio for their Black Doctors Directory, which illegally excluded non-black doctors.

And previously, in 2023, Do No Harm reported that the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania required a political litmus test littered with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-based principles as part of its job application process. 

Do No Harm also previously filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against the school for requiring participants in a medical education program to be from a particular racial or ethnic background; the school took just a handful of months to scrub their website and reverse course.

The sooner programs like these are scrutinized and quickly cast away, the better.