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Attrition Rates for M.D.-Ph.D. Programs Vary by Race, Ethnicity

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Aug. 1, 2023 -- There are significant racial and ethnic disparities in rates of attrition from M.D.-Ph.D. training programs, according to a research letter published online July 31 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Mytien Nguyen, from the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues examined how attrition rates among M.D.-Ph.D. matriculants differ by race and ethnicity. The analysis included Association of American Medical data on 4,702 M.D.-Ph.D. matriculants (2004 to 2012).

The researchers found that 83.6 percent of matriculants completed M.D.-Ph.D. training, 12.3 percent graduated with their M.D. only, and 4.1 percent left medical school. Compared with other M.D.-Ph.D. matriculants of other race/ethnicity groups, graduating with an M.D. only was more common for Black students (20.0 percent) compared with White (12.4 percent), Asian (11.4 percent), Hispanic (13.2 percent), and multiracial (9.8 percent) matriculants. Additionally, more Black M.D.-Ph.D. matriculants left medical school (8.4 percent) than White matriculants (4.3 percent). The odds of graduating with only an M.D. and leaving medical school were higher for Black than for White students (adjusted odds ratios, 1.50 and 1.83, respectively), after adjusting for Medical College Admission Test quartile.

"The disparity in attrition for Black M.D.-Ph.D. students could have implications for the racial diversity of the biomedical workforce," the authors write.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted August 2023

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