An analysis of the association of American medical colleges' review of minorities in medical education.

The Association of American Medical Colleges publishes an enormous database each year, which encompasses every conceivable category of medical education. This information covers high-school student premedical activities, medical school/student data, demographics of residents and fellows in training, a profile of medical school faculty according to academic rank and the enrollment of each medical school in the country. It is all categorized according to race, ethnicity and gender. Furthermore, it is a longitudinal survey and, therefore, valid comparisons can be made over long periods of time. The extensive coverage of African-American involvement in the system at all levels allows for healthcare planners, administrators, politicians and students/parents at all levels to use this as a roadmap for planning purposes. Much of the data is broken down according to individual states, thus enabling students to make better decisions about selecting private versus public institutions for their training. The data on residents in training and medical school faculty provides very useful information for healthcare planners, state and federal government officials, and medical school deans and university administrators interested in addressing diversity issues within their respective domains.