Is medical school culture replacing academic rigor?

Medscape recently released a report entitled, “A Constant Evolution: The Unique Culture of Medical School: Medscape 2025 Report.” The report’s underlying premise is that a warm, welcoming, and supportive culture in medical school allows students to not only “survive” their training, but to truly “thrive” in their educational journey.

Yet, reading between the lines, this emphasis on “culture” and environment also poses a very different question: Has medical education subtly morphed into a consumer-driven enterprise, where feelings of belonging trump the rigorous mastery of knowledge and skills needed to produce competent physicians? With only one question focused on study time, the survey is otherwise absent any mention of academics or the learning that takes place. To that end, the report’s noted cultural “evolution” leaves unanswered what remains of the academic culture that should be at the heart of any medical school.

Read the full article at KevinMD.com.