Troubles in Medical Academe

Abstract

To the Editor.— I would take issue, in part as Dr Hussey has, with what Dr Davis said in his original comments (236:388, 1976). There is no question that many of the leading medical schools, in addition to Harvard, have taken the position that it is their obligation to allow students of minority groups to enter despite lower than usual grade point averages and performances on medical aptitude tests. Such schools feel that every American, despite his or her racial background, should be fully entitled to receive a medical education. Obviously, they realize that tutoring facilities for such students throughout medical school may be necessary, since these students may not have had the opportunity or motivation to acquire the modus operandi to apply themselves consistently. This often stems from the low socioeconomic, cultural, and scientific milieu in which many have lived for long years, coupled with their own minimal expectation