Former Harvard Medical School dean says DEI threatens medicine because anti-racism trainers offer vague ideas and discourage doctors from asking questions or thinking critically
The retired dean of Harvard Medical School has dismissed DEI’s obsessions as threatening medicine, saying anti-racism experts discourage doctors from asking questions or thinking critically.
Jeffrey Flier said policies at New York’s Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and other institutions threaten to “degrade the quality of medical education” by “diluting rigor and precision with ideological agendas.”
The former dean of Harvard Medicine School expressed his views in a op-ed, titled “Medical Schools Must Fight Racism.” But not like this,” published by The Free Press.
Flier acknowledges the “troubling history of racism and bias in medicine” that he has helped combat during his 55-year career. But he says current DEI policies are doing more harm than good.
“As a medical student, I learned all those years ago that a correct prescription can only follow an accurate diagnosis,” Flier wrote.
Former Harvard Medical School Dean Jeffrey Flier (pictured) said the policy at New York’s Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai threatens to “degrade the quality of medical education” by “diluting rigor and precision with ideological agendas ‘
New York’s Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has come under fire from a prominent former dean of Harvard Medical School for DEI policies that he says are doing more harm than good
‘This kind of precision and rigor is supposed to be the basis for everything a doctor does. But when it comes to concerns about racism in medical education and practice, precision and rigor are left aside.”
Flier tears into one 2020 paper in the journal Academic Medicine entitled Addressing and Undoing Racism and Bias in the Medical School Learning and Work Environment, by school directors Leona Hess, Ann-Gel Palermo and David Muller.
‘I was quickly disappointed. Instead of a rigorous analysis of an important problem, the article consisted of dramatic, if unsupported, generalizations about the inherent racism in medical education and practice, and promises of sweeping but vague changes,” Flier wrote.
He added that the paper “raised many more questions than it answered,” so he signed up for a “Chats for Change” workshop at Mount Sinai on racism and prejudice.
Flier said the workshop decried concepts such as “worship of the written word, objectivity, individualism, a sense of urgency, power hoarding and defensiveness” as being linked to “white supremacy.”
He condemned such teachings as discouraging critical thinking, which is crucial for physicians.
Flier added that a trainer dismissed his request for a definition of “anti-racism,” saying “anyone with a terminal degree should know that.”
The former dean added that the leader of the session asked a series of questions that “undermined the need to gather unbiased evidence to determine best medical practices.”
He said they asked questions like “Why is something that is documented or published more highly valued than other forms of knowledge and communication?” and ‘Are clinical trials more valuable than patients’ clinical experiences?’
“The questions suggested ignorance of the advances of modern medicine by those leading the session,” Flier said.
Flier rips a 2020 paper in the journal Academic Medicine titled Addressing and Undoing Racism and Bias in the Medical School Learning and Work Environment, by school directors Leona Hess (pictured), Ann-Gel Palermo and David Muller
David Muller (photo) is one of the authors of the DEI report who criticizes Flier
Flier was also an outspoken critic of Harvard’s response to Hamas’ horrific October 7 raid on Israel.
He is among a number of prominent faculty members urging the institution to abandon its long-standing practice of taking official positions on political or social issues.
At a private meeting just before winter break, Flier and three more Harvard professors hosted a dinner with two influential members of Harvard’s powerful board of governors, Tracy Palandjian and Paul Finnegan.
Flier, together with Steven Pinker, professor of psychology; Harvard Law School celebrity Jeannie Suk Gersen; and Flynn Cratty, deputy director of Harvard’s research program, made their case at a fancy dinner Dec. 19 at Bar Enza at The Charles Hotel.
They advocated that Harvard abandon official positions on political and social issues, create space for diverse opinions, and reaffirm its commitment to freedom of expression.