Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Conference on Ensuring Fairness in Medical Education Assessment: Conference Recommendations Report

Abstract

The diversity a of the health care workforce has profound implications for health equity, influencing access, quality, and patient outcomes of care. As such, American medical education is committed to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), viewing them as necessary to preparing the physicians needed to improve health and health care in the United States. Varied efforts to advance DEI-as well as the value of "belonging, " which is sometimes used in addition to or in place of "inclusion"-are underway in the nation's medical schools and academic health centers, with a large majority of medical schools reporting, for example, that they have appointed a senior DEI leader; prioritized DEI in their mission, vision, and values statements; and/or adopted holistic admissions processes. 1 Many medical education institutions also are exploring ways to advance DEI in their learning and working environments, including through programming around health equity, health disparities, and antibias training for faculty, staff, and learners. Within the learning and working environment in medical education, there is growing awareness of an urgent need to address harmful bias and ensure fairness in assessment due to the critical role assessment plays in the progress of learners.

Precision Education-The Future of Medical Education

“…Equity is particularly important for the application of PE in medical education. Harmful bias in assessment can perpetuate inequities in outcomes [9] . Addressing inequities through PE must be coupled with appropriate coaching, providing actionable feedback and making relevant resources accessible and affordable to learners [10] .…”