Skin of Color in Preclinical Medical Education: A Cross-Institutional Comparison and A Call to Action

Disease presentations can vary between different skin phototypes, at times requiring distinct management and therapies. Medical education curricula have yet to be updated to better reflect and address the dermatologic needs of an increasingly diverse population. The objective of this study was to determine if the preclinical dermatology curriculum at 3 US medical schools provided adequate representation of skin of color patients in their didactic presentation slides. Three US medical schools-all members of the American Medical Association (AMA) Accelerating Change in Medical Education consortium-were included in the study. The institutions were a blend of private and public schools located across different geographic boundaries. The main outcome measures included the proportion of total skin of color photographs for each institution, the number of priority conditions for skin of color patients, and the discussion of differences between skin types. The results strongly suggested that skin of color is underrepresented in the preclinical dermatology curriculum at all 3 institutions. Efforts should be made to increase images and discussion of skin of color in preclinical didactics.

Automated summary

The study found that skin of color is underrepresented in the preclinical dermatology curriculum at all 3 institutions and efforts should be made to increase images and discussion of skin of color in preclinical didactics.