Washington University School of Medicine (WashU) will serve as a key collaborator in an American Medical Association (AMA) ChangeMedEd Innovation Grant entitled, “Identifying Disparities in Clinical Grading to Promote Equity: A Multi-Institutional Study”. Tai Lockspeiser, MD, MHPE, of the University of Colorado is the Principal Investigator. The aim of this multi-institutional study is to advance our understanding of the prevalence of and factors associated with disparities in medical student grading during clinical rotations. In addition to WashU, collaborating schools include University of Colorado School of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, and University of California San Francisco School of Medicine.
Dr. Eva Aagaard stated, “We are proud to contribute to this investigation. By working together with these other wonderful institutions, we can better understand this complex problem. Current studies are limited by their single-site nature and small sample size. The knowledge gained from this important study will be critical in WashU’s efforts towards equity for all of our learners and help identify strategies that are applicable across institutions.” Dr. Eve Colson added “This project is a natural next step for us in our work and a way to continue to advance knowledge to inform future interventions in this important area.”
The study will focus on 4 goals: building a broad collection of data from public and private institutions across the US, determining the prevalence of grading disparities across the participating institutions, describing the impact of structural factors on grading inequities, and determining the impact of student characteristics and intersectionality on grading outcomes. This study will result in the creation of a national dataset designed to refine our understanding of the problem, encourage cross-institutional collaborations, and facilitate the evaluation of interventions.