Share of new Black medical students in Tennessee sinks
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Tennessee, which is home to one of the nation's only historically Black medical schools, saw its share of Black medical school students fall to its lowest point in decades this school year.
Why it matters: Having doctors who resemble the patients they're serving can improve health outcomes and enable patients to feel more comfortable voicing health concerns, multiple studies suggest.
- Black patients being treated by Black doctors may experience less medical racism, whether that means better treatment in the emergency room or not having pain or other risk factors dismissed.
- Only 5% of doctors in the U.S. are Black, even though Black Americans comprise 14% of the general population.
The big picture: There are five medical schools with M.D. programs in Tennessee. Belmont University, the newest addition, enrolled its first class of students last year.
- Meharry Medical College in Nashville is one of only a handful of historically Black medical schools in the country. Meharry president James Hildreth is part of a national effort to educate more Black doctors.
State of play: Tennessee has consistently outperformed the nation when it comes to educating new Black doctors. But during the 2024-25 academic year, the Volunteer State fell below the national benchmark for the first time since at least the 1970s, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, which has collected data on this topic since 1978.
- The AAMC data tracks the number of enrolled first-year Black medical students.
By the numbers: In Tennessee, 30 first-year medical students this school year were Black. That accounts for 7.9% of the state total, compared to 8.9% nationally.
- Both figures have dropped in recent years.
The latest: Belmont and the historically Black college Tennessee State University announced a new program Monday aiming to address this dynamic, and chip away at the national doctor shortage, by "increasing opportunities for underrepresented students in medicine."
- The partnership would give qualifying students the chance to pursue an accelerated track through undergraduate studies at TSU followed by medical school at Belmont. They would need to meet Belmont's admission standards during their last year at TSU.
- "By partnering with TSU, we're creating meaningful opportunities for talented students from underserved communities to pursue their medical dreams while addressing critical health care needs," Belmont associate dean Karen Lewis said in a statement.
Between the lines: The recent national dip in Black medical school student enrollment follows the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down affirmative action in higher education.