Affirmative Action in Anesthesiology Match??

[JoeB226]

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I was wondering if affirmative action exists in the match as it is with medical school admissions.

 

[Lonestar]

what do you think sherlock.

 

[gaslady]

This is a whole can of worms.

Think about what you're asking, seriously. Anesthesia providers have many people's lives in their hands on a daily basis. The malpractice attorney isn't going to take affirmative action into account when he sues your ass off!

 

[2ndyear]

I'd say that there are no rules in the match. A program might not like you for whatever reason, you smelled bad, didn't talk how they liked, were too short, are a Michigan fan (only if you apply to Ohio State though).

 

[Tollway]

I was wondering if affirmative action exists in the match as it is with medical school admissions.

I don't think any actual law exists, but some/most programs try to reflect diversity in their match class. I know our program has at least 1 black resident a year match. Houston is a diverse city, so I think our program tries to get a diverse ethnic background of residents to match. I also agree with the above poster who says a program director won't like someone for something as simple as too strong a cologne scent. I saw it happen first-hand in the interview process this year at Baylor.

 

[starlight1]

is baylor a top tier program?

 

[Tollway]

is baylor a top tier program?

I would like to think so. It isn't top 10 but I would like to think it is in the top 20 by reputation.

 

[joshmir]

as a minority (but not in medicine, since i'm south asian), i guarantee there's *minor* affirmative action with this caveat It seems to apply only when comparing candidates for whom the proverbial phrase "all things being equal" applies, in which case I think depts would like to spice up the mix with more women and racial minorities under-represented in medicine (ie african americans, hispanic origin, native americans and not east or south asian americans). I personally agree with this as it lends more diversity (of a social variety <some people have referred to the presence of some people as "ornamental", I've heard the presence of some very strong IMGs with different accents as lending a "cosmopolitan" air), not any kind of variety that benefits learning) and studies show disadvantaged minorities are more likely to provide care in underserved areas with other disadvantaged minorities and enjoy their experience more.

To pre-empt assertations to the contrary, I believe that this affirmative action RARELY is significant b/c it's rare that two people are really viewed as equal in all other ways, and with the randomness of the match, i don't think anybody has reason to think they are significantly disadvantaged by this.

my evidence for this comes form secondhand knowlege and firsthand knowlege making ranking decisions for my program.

 

[hippanonymous]

Can of worms...

That "all things being equal" stuff is a bunch of crap. It's more like all things being not even close to equal. They say the same for medical school, but the numbers don't lie.

More minorities enter primary care and underserved/undesirable areas because more minorities have bad USMLE scores and grades. I bet if you compare ethnic groups correcting for grades and USMLE's, minorities are no more likely to practice in underserved areas or in primary care than any other group. Numbers aren't available for this though- which is pretty suspicious actually. If all things are equal, lets see some comparative studies of how these "equal" med students and residents perform.

By the way, both the best and the worst interns I worked with this year were black. It's the averages that are important not that exception to the rule, and the averages are far from equal.

 

[starlight1]

i would love baylor 😀

 

[starlight1]

i am a minority (girl) 😛

 

[joshmir]

this is a great post hippa. i would point out, though that you haven't shed much light on how you know the *anesthesia* match is not "all things being equal". excpet for that point, i agree with all your perspectives. admittedly i dropped an opinion with little experience to back it up.

interestingly, "disadvantaged minority" is a variable thing...in the armed services (ie, applying to westpoint, airforce academy, etc) I qualify (as an asian-american), but not elsewhere. at historically black colleges, white people can land scholarships. (this is truth)

here's a question: do you thing the poor outcomes mirror race AND sex in USMLE/med school grades?

the other thing to point out is for *whatever* reason, disadvantaged minoroties are *happier* than their colleaugues providing care to underserved minorities (and probably vice-versa). and inspiration/role-modeling is an untangible benefit of providing affirmative action.

Can of worms...

That "all things being equal" stuff is a bunch of crap. It's more like all things being not even close to equal. They say the same for medical school, but the numbers don't lie.

More minorities enter primary care and underserved/undesirable areas because more minorities have bad USMLE scores and grades. I bet if you compare ethnic groups correcting for grades and USMLE's, minorities are no more likely to practice in underserved areas or in primary care than any other group. Numbers aren't available for this though- which is pretty suspicious actually. If all things are equal, lets see some comparative studies of how these "equal" med students and residents perform.

By the way, both the best and the worst interns I worked with this year were black. It's the averages that are important not that exception to the rule, and the averages are far from equal.

 

[Skip Intro]

I'd say that there are no rules in the match. A program might not like you for whatever reason, you smelled bad, didn't talk how they liked, were too short, are a Michigan fan (only if you apply to Ohio State though).

I've got a feeling this is pretty much right.

-Skip