The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

The school will, “Minimize emphasis placed on standardized examinations which can perpetuate bias and inequity in admission processes.”

The Internal Medicine Residency Program pledges to “review applications holistically and enact interview strategies that minimize harmful bias.”

The school announced that for the entering class of 2021, “The Admissions Committee at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine recognizes and understands how the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Black racism and violence have influenced and will continue to influence the 2020-2021 medical school application cycle. Our commitment to maintaining an equitable admissions process that ensures the training of a diverse future physician workforce poised to meet the needs of our communities is longstanding and unwavering.”

On April 12, 2023, the school announced that, in an "increased effort to attract top applicants from a range of backgrounds and reduce student debt, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine will provide full-tuition scholarships to up to half of each incoming class of medical students and modernize its curriculum starting in the fall of 2023." According to the article, "by increasing financial support for incoming students and developing a new curriculum, the Pritzker School is furthering its goal of inspiring a more diverse generation of leaders and innovators in medicine and science."

In February 2023, the school published a bio of its Associate Dean for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine, Dayle Davenport, MD. Dr. Davenport "provides guidance to further the recruitment and selection of a diverse group of students via her work with the Admissions team and through the Pritzker summer pathway programs." (Dr. Davenport also "acts as the course director for the Health Equity, Advocacy and Anti-racism course.")

The school will, “Require the participation in implicit bias, anti-racism, and ally-ship training and education for medical students, core faculty, and staff” and “Strongly encourage and facilitate the participation in such training for all members of our community – faculty, residents, staff, and students.”

The school said, “Health Equity Advocacy and Anti-Racism is a unique experiential program that all first year incoming Pritzker students attend during the summer quarter to help further their understanding of disparities which exist within the healthcare field.”

The school will, “Constitute a faculty/student task force to conduct a critical review of the medical school curriculum to support inclusive clinical cases, eradicate racial stereotyping, and promote clinical practice based on unbiased evidence” and “Integrate content related to disparities in health throughout the four year curricula, building upon the foundation of the first-year required course on Health Care Disparities.”

As part of their First Year Courses, medical students must take “Health Equity, Advocacy, and Anti-Racism,” which “gives students an overview of disparities that exist in health and health care in the United States across categories such as race, gender, social economic status, age, and sexual orientation. The course includes lectures and small group sessions led by leaders in health care in Chicago and at the University, and culminates in a small group project that explores an aspect of health care disparities in detail.”

The Internal Medicine Residency Program pledges to “increase the health care disparities content in our curriculum, including education about allyship training.”

The Internal Medicine Residency Program pledges to “require all program leadership and core faculty to undergo implicit bias training.”

The Internal Medicine Residency Program pledges to “support, financially and administratively, our resident-run endeavors to support diversity and foster inclusion.”

UChicago Pritzker changed its stipend program (The Underrepresented in Medicine Visiting Clerkship Program (UiMVCP)) that excluded white students after the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism challenged the legality of the program in a letter sent on July 12, 2022 to the school. The program was originally directed toward “those who identify as Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Native Americans (American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians), and Asian (Hmong, Vietnamese, Laotian, and Filipino)."

The Pritzker School of Medicine and the UChicago Medicine GME Office co-sponsor the Underrepresented in Medicine Visiting Clerkship Program. This is a program which “provides mentoring, networking, and stipend support for fourth-year medical students who are underrepresented in medicine as defined by the AAMC or are interested in addressing health inequities and social determinants of health.”

The University of Chicago has a Biological Sciences department of Diversity and Inclusion. This department has created “The Inclusion MENU”, which “features 50-minute conversation starters themed around diversity and inclusion.” Sessions are offered on topics within “Implicit Bias,” “LGBTQ Safe Space,” “Examining Privilege,” “Gender Identity,” and “Microaggressions.”

On May 31, 2023, the school's News webpage reported that on May 21, 2023, the "Pritzker School of Medicine Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) hosted the 7th Annual Black and Latina Women in Medicine Forum (BLWiM): 'Together We Thrive'.” Premedical/medical students, and physicians "gathered together on the University of Chicago campus to build community and discuss the unique experiences of women physicians who share these intersectional identities."

The school has an Office of Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The University of Chicago awards Diversity Leadership Awards to its undergraduates and medical school students.

In 2020, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine announced on social media that, “To ensure that students continue having these types of conversations beyond their first year, Pritzker promotes ongoing inclusive learning and practice through the Identity and Inclusion Committee.”

On November 29, 2022, the school made an announcement stating that, “Dr. Dayle Davenport has been named Associate Dean for Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (HEDI).” This position will begin on February 13.

On January 20, 2022, the Pritzker School of Medicine highlighted that a study conducted by a student reported “racial bias in the way doctors described Black patients and white patients in electronic health records.” This study relates “racialized state violence” and George Floyd’s death to its findings.

UChicago Pritzker School of Medicine (SOM) press highlighted that six Pritzker SOM students received Diversity Awards from UChicagoGRAD Diversity Advisory Board (DAB) in May 2022. The DAB Diversity Awards are meant to "recognize, honor, and celebrate graduate students from underrepresented and historically marginalized backgrounds for their campus and community contributions that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion."

Following the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Pritzker School of Medicine released a "Statement of Commitment to Address Racism in Medical Education" on July 27, 2020. The school declared that "systemic racism threatens the health of our patients, their families, students, staff, and the community," and that it will "evaluate [its] curricula with intent to eliminate racist or biased historical teaching and to expand antiracist curricular elements."

On January 27, 2023, the school announced that that it would "not participate in U.S. News and World Report ‘s annual 'Best Medical Schools' ranking next year due to concerns about the publication’s methodology and the impact the ratings system has on an equitable medical education."