Reclaiming the mission of academic medicine: An examination of institutional responses to (anti)racism

Purpose: The utility of institutional statements is said to provide clarity and reinforcement of an institution's goal. Unfortunately, it can also be argued that these statements are in clear misalignment between the words described and the environments that faculty, students, trainees, and staff of color face. The purpose of this study was to analyze academic medicine institutional statements that responded to 2020 racial tensions following the murders of George Floyd, among others, and the subsequent nationwide protests against police brutality.

Methods: We conducted a manifest content analysis of institutional statements generated by academic medical centers after George Floyd's murder. We used manifest content analysis to gain insights into how institutional statements connect structural racism to the mission of academic medicine. We collected and examined institutional statements from 26 academic medicine centers. Selection parameters included statements that were publicly available and published by the institutions during a 2-week period. We conducted a four-stage analysis: decontextualization, recontextualization, categorization, and compilation. To better understand the collection of statements, we plotted these institutional statements according to the most salient discussed themes.

Results: Overall, institutional statements discussed racism through three subthemes: identifying the racial implications of health disparities, issuing a call to action to address racism, and decentering race. Absent language is also noted. Second, institutional statements evoked institutional values by expressing an explicit connection with the academic medicine mission, naming the value of social justice, and emphasizing the concept of community. Finally, institutional statements largely discussed public health in connection with racism or with institutional values.

Conclusion: Our study determines a much-needed reconnection to the mission of academic medicine. Reclaiming the social mission will be a major step toward recentering the foundation of institutional actions. This call is what ultimately will improve the health and well-being of marginalized populations.