Don't trust the lies on diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine

Although many who endorse the DEI movement may be well-intentioned, in medicine, the end results will be disastrous for the patient.

President Biden’s health has become a central issue, not least because many feel that the Democratic leaders misled the country on his vigor. I feel a similar sense of betrayal by those same leaders who advocate for the supposed beneficial effects of diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI in medicine. 

The field of medicine has always been held to be the most trustworthy profession of all. Physicians are supposed to be the hardest working, most skilled and diligent caretakers of our health. Yet the DEI movement is drawing ideological lines in an environment that should be apolitical, eroding trust along the way.

In March, I introduced the EDUCATE Act to ban identity-based mandates at medical schools and accrediting institutions. Since its introduction, there has been a significant propaganda campaign by DEI apologists and liberal academics to keep the curtain closed and claim, “all is well in medical education.” Yet, as Queen Gertrude in “Hamlet” exclaimed, “The lady doth protest too much.” These declarations are too excessive and insistent to be believed. 

It is complete folly, and dangerous, to believe that the selection and education of our future doctors should be based upon social justice parameters and identity politics.

If anyone speaks up against this, he or she is labeled a “bigot," "racist," "misogynist,” or whatever leftist attack word can be spat at them. The bottom line is that medicine should be about the patient, not the social identity of the physician.

When doctors make medicine about themselves, or their political affinity, they are degrading the very profession they took an oath to defend, and it will ultimately lead to patient harm.

We have witnessed the waiving of Medical College Admission Test  scores for students to enter medical school. On medical school applications, prospective medical students check every identity politics box in hopes of a competitive advantage. 

DEI apologists love to argue patients prefer to go to doctors who look like them. Perhaps, in some instances this is true. However, the logical conclusion of this position is segregation in the classroom and the doctor’s office.

In the classroom, precious time is being diverted from coursework to accommodate the addition of ideological classes. For example, UCLA Medical School, a once highly respected institution, has required students to take a “Structural Racism and Health Equity” course. It comes as no surprise that nearly a quarter of students in the school’s class of 2025 cannot pass basic medical exams. Social media is full of videos these days of medical students boasting that they failed their exams but that, “‘they will be a doctor anyway.” Where is the patient in all of this?

Disparities undoubtedly exist in medicine, and I’m deeply committed to addressing them. The current strategies prescribed to fix these imbalances are unmoored from reality and dangerous. I have spent the last 35 years serving a rural and heavy minority practice area to personally make a difference, not an urban Northeast, liberal echo chamber.

In all my years as a physician, I have never been more worried about the future of medicine. I cannot stand by and allow it to be corrupted by a political peer pressure campaign. The sinister movement to inject racial and political division into medical schools not only contradicts the principles of treating all patients equally and without partiality, but also materially impacts patient care and fosters distrust in our health care system. 

We already have a severe physician workforce shortage; inserting politics into the field will degrade it further. Sadly, it will take a decade to see the clinical results of these horribly misguided policies and by that time it will be too late.

The push to implant DEI into every facet of our lives, including medicine, suggests that identity politics matter more than merit and work ethic. It is a Trojan horse for redistribution, segregation and racial division masquerading as a noble pursuit to stamp out oppression and offer everyone a fair shot at life. 

Meaningful civil progress does not require deception to build a coalition of support. Although many who endorse the DEI movement may be well-intentioned, in medicine, the end results will be disastrous for the patient. The patient is what doctors are supposed to care about most.

Greg Murphy represents the 3rd District of North Carolina.