Table 1.
Demographic Characteristics of 1,660 Participating Medical Students at 7 Medical Schools Compared to National Medical Student Demographics.a
| Characteristic | Participating Schools, N (%) | Nationally (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||
| Male | 772 (47.3) | 47.2 |
| Female | 859 (52.7) | 52.8 |
| Medical school class | ||
| First | 413 (25.2) | – |
| Second | 390 (23.8) | – |
| Third | 306 (18.6) | – |
| Fourth | 453 (27.6) | – |
| Otherb | 80 (4.8) | – |
| Race/ethnicityc | ||
| Non-Hispanic Asian | 302 (18.2) | 24.7 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 82 (4.9) | 7.4 |
| Non-Hispanic White | 945 (56.9) | 61.7 |
| Hispanic | 170 (10.2) | 10.1 |
| Mixed race/AIAN/NHPI/other | 93 (5.6) | 4.5 |
| Missing/Not specified | 68 (4.1) | – |
| Private or public schoold | ||
| Private | 923 (55.6) | 46.7 |
| Public | 737 (44.4) | 53.3 |
| Intended specialtye | ||
| Primary care | 803 (48.4) | – |
| Surgical specialty | 242 (14.6) | – |
| Obstetrics and gynecology | 96 (5.8) | – |
| Non-surgical specialty | 265 (16.0) | – |
| Unknown/Not specified | 254 (15.3) | – |
| Political ideologyf | ||
| Conservative | 118 (7.2) | – |
| Moderate | 199 (12.2) | – |
| Liberal | 1,271 (77.7) | – |
| Region | ||
| Midwest | 583 (35.1) | 28.1 |
| West | 512 (30.8) | 13.0 |
| Northeast | 307 (18.5) | 27.8 |
| South | 258 (15.5) | 31.2 |
| Age, years | ||
| 19–24 | 539 (33.0) | – |
| 25–27 | 706 (43.2) | – |
| ≥28 | 388 (23.8) | – |
Reproduced with permission from Rook et al.18 © Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
Abbreviations: AIAN, American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
Data Source: Association of American Medical Colleges21 and Washko et al.22 Percentages may not add to 100.0 because of rounding. Not all 1,660 students answered all questions. Total respondents for each question vary. Percentages calculated from each characteristic total. Some national data unavailable.
MD with PhD, MPH, MBA, MHS, MSCR, JD, MS, or other.
Association of American Medical Colleges. Matriculating Student Questionnaire. All Schools Summary Report, 2017,21 data reported for white, Asian, and black matriculants include both Hispanic and non-Hispanic students. Hispanic status reported in addition to race/ethnicity; thus, total is greater than 100%.
Private schools are Emory School of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Yale School of Medicine. Public schools include University of California Davis School of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and University of Minnesota School of Medicine – Twin Cities and Duluth campuses.
Primary care includes family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and medicine/pediatrics. Surgical specialties include all surgical specialties except obstetrics/gynecology. Non-surgical specialties include anesthesiology, dermatology, radiology, pathology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, and radiation oncology.
Conservative status includes students who identified as somewhat conservative and conservative. Liberal status includes students who identified as somewhat liberal and liberal.