I agree. I don't want someone who struggled in undergrad to be my doc, either. But we're talking about doctors for medically indigent/underserved patients, not for us or the general population.
So many pre-meds apply to medical school thinking they will be judged based on their accomplishments. This mindset demonstrates a certain sophomoric naivete and a troubling lack of cultural competence. Getting into medical school is not about your merits.
There are ways to make people aware of others' cultures. For any human being, even not you, a person who deals with life or death should be strong academically (we shouldn't keep lowering standards, seriously). What's culture going to do when academics aren't good enough? Why is culture also based on race??? Really, what if a person who was born Caucasian grew up in a predominately African-American culture and feels as one with this culture. Why shouldn't he be treated specially instead? I'm sure those who knew him for his whole life, for example, would interact well and feel comfortable with him (unless he or his patients are a little bit.. "showing preference for a certain ethnicity"), and he'd know the proper approach. Why should an African-American who grew up in Beverly Hills with barely any African-Americans around him get treated as a URM? It should be based on CULTURE to even be effective. It's just shallow right now.
Yes I agree. While such a person would not even be fit as a veterinarian in an upper class white suburb such as the ones you and I live in, such dangerously sub-par physicians are fine for the plebeian scum that inhabit backwoods rural areas and inner cities. After all, there's so many 99%ers out there that no one's going to miss a few dead ones...or even a few hundred dozen lol! I mean, if my maid were to drop dead tomorrow I'm sure I could hire another one by the evening, they're easily replaceable.!"
I believe what Laura S intended to say is that there has to be enough doctors who are experienced in that culture, so that underrepresented areas get enough healthcare services. Thus, doctors must be drawn from that applicant pool even if the average MCAT score is unfortunately low.
I, personally, agree on the condition of a
safe MCAT score, but I think finding the culturally-experienced doctor should be based on his/her culture, not ethnicity (which may have no benefits for anybody, unless the doctors or patients have a preference for a certain race, just like almost everyone else actually does). Nevertheless, although I don't fully agree with the principle, it is a phenomenon common in every race, so healthcare has to be provided to everyone, no matter what.
It seems that the fixed racial diversity in physicians (even at the risk of a very low MCAT score, e.g. 22, compare
this with
that) is based on irrelevant politics, actually increases the risk on you and your family's lives, and maintains segregation, inequality, and racism (, and bitterness between races). When saving lives through complex medicine, racial diversity should not trump cultural diversity and competence. It's cultural diversity (where you lived, your background; e.g. an AA who grew up in a white community, versus a white person who grew up in an AA community) that's needed, not racial.
I expect this might lead to controversy and a potential "flame-war"... *Just put on my hazmat suit*
