A recent study found that Black medical students who attended historically Black medical schools (HBCUs) report a greater sense of belonging and greater confidence in their academic abilities than those in predominantly white medical schools (PWIs). To conduct the study, surveys were distributed three times during students’ second year of medical school in both types of institution.
Sylvia Perry, an associate professor of psychology at Northwestern University, was the study’s senior researcher. Perry also works as the principal investigator in the Social Cognition and Intergroup Processes (SCIP) Lab and is a faculty fellow of the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern.
“Our findings suggest that Black medical students in PWI schools may experience greater everyday discrimination relative to their HBCU peers that leads to reduced perceptions of their ability to succeed within medical school,” said Perry.
“We believe that it is important for predominantly white institutions to signal a commitment and make efforts to increase diversity among trainees and faculty,”
“Simply increasing the number of students and faculty of color is not enough,” she added. “These institutions should also focus on increasing underrepresented medical students’ sense of belonging by making the reduction of bias and discrimination explicit priorities. Medical schools must create an environment in which all students can thrive and feel safe.”
Learn more in Northwestern Now’s article, “Black medical students report more belonging, greater confidence in scholastic abilities in HBCU schools.”