DEI, Discrimination, and Doctors

Episode summary:

DEI advocates say we need race‑based admissions to fix health care, but we walk through why discrimination—no matter who it targets—has no place in publicly funded medical schools. We look at the civil‑rights investigation into the Brody School of Medicine and how “pipelines” and outcome‑based admissions quietly tilt the scales against white and Asian applicants. Then we dig into the evidence on patients preferring doctors of their own background and explain why a genuinely free market could meet that demand without Washington picking winners and losers. In the end, we argue that if institutions want to experiment with race‑exclusive models, they should do it with their own money—not yours.

What you’ll learn / Key moments

• 00:01 – Does skin color matter for being a good doctor? Setting up the core question.
• 00:10 – Brody School of Medicine under federal investigation over alleged race‑based admissions.
• 00:36 – How DEI, pipelines, and outcome‑based admissions sidestep bans on discrimination.
• 01:13 – Evidence on “race concordance” and why some patients prefer same‑race doctors.
• 01:31 – A free‑market model for race‑specific medical schools and why public funding changes the rules.

What you can do

If we want fair, competent doctors, we have to demand merit‑based admissions in every publicly funded medical school. Support policies that ban discrimination in any form, push back on DEI pipelines that quietly sort applicants by race, and back reforms that let the free market test new models without using taxpayer dollars as a safety net. Share this episode with friends, post it on your social feeds, and help keep the spotlight on how admissions decisions today shape the quality of care we all receive tomorrow.

Does the color of your skin matter when it comes to being a good doctor?

This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Wednesday July 22, 2026.

The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville is one of five medical schools nationwide under investigation by the US Department of Education for civil rights violations.  While the specific concerns at Brody have not been released, we do know that it is being grouped with other schools who may have denied admission to white and Asian applicants in favor of lower-credential Black and Hispanic students.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies were specifically targeted for elimination by the Trump administration.  Many universities – including medical schools – have skirted that issue by relying on “pipelines” – which funnel Blacks and Hispanics from specific communities into their programs, or by relying on “outcome-based” admissions – which favors those who are willing to serve in underprivileged areas.  It is a not-so-hidden way to say an institution will favor certain racial groups over others regardless of merit.

Do we need more Black or Hispanic doctors?  There is some evidence that a “race concordance” – where the doctor and patient share the same racial and ethnic background – has led to improved care.  Blacks prefer to speak with Black Doctors. Hispanics, Asians and Whites have the same tendency. 

There is a way to meet this need.

It is called the Free Market.

Imagine a school whose sole purpose is to train Black Doctors.  It specifically says that its students may only be Black.  There may be other qualifications – but this school is dedicated to providing Black Doctors to the Black Community.  Under Federal Law it is virtually impossible for this to happen – even if the institution receives no federal funding whatsoever.  But if it was allowed, the market would determine whether such a model was viable, whether it produced measurable results in the health of the communities it served, and whether it would be supported by the tuition and foundations it would generate.

No institution supported by public money should be allowed to discriminate – even with pipelines and outcome-based admissions.  But for those who are dedicated to increasing diversity in the medical field, perhaps they should be allowed to see if it will work – as long as they put their own money behind it.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample.  Thanks for listening.