Another Elite Medical School Withdraws From Prestigious Ranking System

Another Elite Medical School Withdraws From Prestigious Ranking System

Alexa Schwerha on January 24, 2023

Stanford School of Medicine announced on Monday it would no longer participate in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, making it the next medical school to pull its participation over concerns about the survey’s methodology.

The school will no longer send information to be considered as part of the system’s “Best Medical Schools” rankings because of concerns that the rankings do not “capture the full extent of what makes for an exceptional learning environment,” according to a statement by dean Lloyd Minor. Instead, the school will choose to independently report its data beginning on March 1 to help prospective students weigh whether or not to attend the school.

“Deciding where to attend medical school is one of the most important decisions a student can make. For many, it sets the foundation for a lifelong career in service of others,” the statement read. “We believe that our decision, along with those of a growing number of peer institutions, is necessary to lead a long-overdue examination of how medical education quality is evaluated and presented to aspiring students.”

Stanford is currently ranked eighth in the 2023 list of top medical schools, according to U.S. News & World Report. The system considers peer assessments, residency director assessments, test scores, acceptance rates and student grade point averages, among other factors, in its rankings.

With Monday’s announcement, Stanford’s medical school becomes the latest medical school to announce it will no longer participate in the rankings. Harvard Medical School announced its decision to withdraw its participation on Jan. 17 because it had “philosophical” concerns about how schools were ranked.

Harvard Medical School is currently ranked as the top medical school in the country, according to the 2023 report.

There was a time when admission to Harvard medical school meant you had superior academic achievement.

That is no longer true, and Harvard should be ashamed for emphasizing skin color over academic and medical excellence.https://t.co/xWOC8FCf26

— Do No Harm (@donoharm) January 20, 2023

“My concerns and the perspectives I have heard from others are more philosophical than methodological, and rest on the principled belief that rankings cannot meaningfully reflect the high aspirations for educational excellence, graduate preparedness, and compassionate and equitable patient care that we strive to foster in our medical education programs,” Dr. George Q. Daley, dean of the faculty of medicine at Harvard, wrote in his announcement.

Stanford School of Medicine’s metrics will highlight its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, according to Monday’s statement. The school will also release metrics about its accomplishments, mission and priorities which include patient care and research opportunities.

“Although we are withdrawing our participation in the U.S. News rankings, it is important to note that the publication may continue ranking our institution based on publicly available data,” Minor wrote. “I also want to underscore that this does not change Stanford Health Care’s or Stanford Medicine Children’s Health’s participation in the U.S. News ‘Best Hospitals’ rankings. Medical school and hospital rankings are separate and independent and use different methodologies.”

Stanford School of Medicine, Minor and U.S. News & World Report did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.