March 31, 2026
by
Jay Greene, PhD
How the AAMC Fails to Read and Correctly Interpret the Research It Cites
In 2022, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), joined by 45 other healthcare organizations including the American Medical Association, the Association of American Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and the American Public Health Association, filed an amicus brief in the landmark Students for Fair Admissions case. The organizations’ goal was to convince the Supreme Court to maintain racial preferences in college and graduate school admissions decisions. Their argument was that allowing educational institutions to consider race was a matter of life and death: “As an overwhelming body of scientific research compiled over decades confirms, diversity literally saves lives…”
While the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that race cannot be used to determine educational opportunities, there is a rear-guard effort to continue racial preferences, especially in medicine. Some universities appear to be refusing to comply with the decision given the composition of the new cohorts they are admitting. And new cases are being prepared for court consideration that might limit the scope of the Students for Fair Admissions decision. In particular, some are suggesting that the prohibition on considering race may not apply to the hiring of medical school graduates into residency programs, fellowships, or hospitals.