Medical and healthcare education accreditors are abandoning diversity, equity, and inclusion requirements for schools, a Do No Harm report shows, with the organization’s medical director saying accreditors must still be held accountable “to ensure lasting reform.”
Do No Harm is a group that represents “physicians, nurses, medical students, patients, and policymakers focused on keeping identity politics out of medical education, research, and clinical practice,” according to its website.
Do No Harm’s medical director, Dr. Kurt Miceli, told The Center Square that “it’s encouraging to see the progress that has been made since the President’s executive order just three months ago,” referencing Trump’s April order to reform accreditation.
“Accreditors hold enormous power over an institution’s policies and operations,” Miceli said. “No longer can they be allowed to serve as conduits – or excuses – for DEI initiatives.”
“Vigilance and continued oversight are essential” to ensuring that accreditors continue to abandon DEI, Miceli said.
“While some accreditors have taken steps to remove DEI standards, others have merely suspended enforcement, and some have made no adjustments at all,” Miceli said.
“It’s critical to ensure that eliminated standards don’t resurface, suspended ones are ultimately rescinded, and those yet untouched are brought into alignment with the President’s executive order,” Miceli said.
“To ensure lasting reform, we must continue to hold accreditors accountable by bringing light to these issues,” Miceli said. “DEI must be fully removed from the equation and the focus firmly returned to merit, excellence and quality.”
Miceli said that “while eliminating DEI from accreditation standards is crucial, meaningful reform in the health professions requires institutions to prioritize merit as the guiding principle in all facets of academic and professional advancement.”
The eight accreditors listed in Do No Harm’s report who have scaled back their DEI initiatives are: the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, the Council on Podiatric Medical Education, the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation, and the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.
Accreditors listed that have yet to make any changes are the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation, and the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education.
None of the accreditors have responded to The Center Square’s request for comment except for the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
CAPTE referred TCS to its announcement on scaling back DEI, while AVMA said, “by aligning terminology with current legal frameworks, including those that prohibit unlawful discrimination and require equal treatment of all students, the revised standards reflect the Council’s commitment to its foundational principles – specifically fairness and support for all students.”
Abandonment of DEI requirements has been enacted to varying degrees by the eight accreditors.
For instance, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education still retain some diversity requirements, prompting Miceli to tell The Center Square that “important first steps have been taken by the likes of the LCME and ACGME, but more must be done.”
The American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation will not enforce its diversity requirements, while the American Veterinary Medical Association has proposed to remove its requirements.
The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education has eliminated nearly all mention of diversity, equity, and inclusion from its requirements, and the remaining accreditors who’ve adjusted their DEI requirements have done so by removing all such demands.
Do No Harm’s report follows a previous one they released in March outlining the many ways medical education accreditors were still involved in requiring DEI.
The most recent report states that its findings “are evidence that laws and policies aimed at curbing DEI in accreditation are having a significant effect.”
“From President Trump’s executive order to state laws cracking down on DEI, these policies appear to be disincentivizing accreditors from maintaining their discriminatory accreditation requirements,” the report said.
