Amid allegations of racial and gender discrimination at Tulane University's School of Medicine, the school saw its accreditation status for graduate medical education programs put on probation last week, according to .
Lee Hamm, MD, dean of the university's School of Medicine, announced on July 3 that the institution was put on probation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The probationary status applies to Tulane's residency and fellowship programs, but not the MD program.
Due to confidentiality issues, Tulane is limited in what information it can share about the ACGME's decision, Hamm said. However, he did state that the accreditor called for increased supervision of medical education programs, as well as greater equity and inclusivity efforts.
"The clear message from the ACGME is that we can and must do more to improve the oversight of our GME programs while also improving our learning and working environments, including enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion for everyone in our community," Hamm said in the letter.
The ACGME's decision to place Tulane on probation follows a public debate over the removal of Princess Dennar, MD, from her position as director of the Medicine-Pediatrics residency program last February. Dennar, who still serves as a medical director of ambulatory clinics at Tulane, was the first and only Black woman to lead the Med-Peds residency program.
"This decision is important because it sets a precedent for other institutions across the nation, that the ACGME and other accrediting bodies will not tolerate any form of racism or sexism," Dennar told 番茄社区app.
The organization became aware of reports of gender and racial discrimination at Tulane in February, Susan White, a spokesperson for the ACGME, told 番茄社区app via email. These reports prompted the ACGME to conduct two site visits in the spring, evaluating the institution as well as the internal medicine residency program. The program was given continued accreditation with warning, but the .
The ACGME's review of Tulane followed Dennar's removal from the program director position in February. Dennar filed a against Tulane in October 2020, citing race- and gender-based discrimination against herself and several of her residents, many of whom identified as women of color. She maintains that the institution's decision to withdraw her leadership title was retaliatory.
Dennar's lawsuit alleges more than a decade of discriminatory behavior from her superiors, starting when she was interviewed for the director role. Her program, which was disproportionately comprised of minority residents, was discriminated against based on race, according to the complaint.
Additionally, Dennar claimed that Tulane required all program directors to use a tool known as ATLAS to assist with residency applicant ranking in the match. The tool, she alleged, systematically ranked applicants from historically Black accredited medical colleges on the bottom of the list, regardless of metrics such as standardized test scores.
Tulane asserts that its decision to remove Dennar from her program director role was based not on her ongoing lawsuit, but on a recommendation made by a panel of reviewers, which met in light of a 2018 warning citation issued against Dennar's program. Dennar has , stating that the warning was removed from her program before she was terminated.
Following media reports and public outrage about Dennar's removal, Hamm offered to restore her leadership position in March, but only if she accepted support mechanisms recommended by the school's graduate medical education committee, including executive coaching and additional administrative support. When Dennar did not accept the offer under those conditions, the institution would not restore her role, according to a .
Dennar, who still serves as Tulane's medical director of internal medicine and primary care clinics at the University Medical Center New Orleans, said that she was surprised by the ACGME's recent decision to place Tulane on probation.
"For so long, we have asked oversight institutions to step in to address the discrimination that has been happening in these types of institutions," she said in an interview.
Dennar stated that she empathizes with the students, residents, fellows, and her colleagues at Tulane who will be affected by the probationary status, and continues to stand with them. However, she added that she thinks this probation is the first step toward further change at the university.
"There is still more work to be done," Dennar said. "I am hoping that Tulane takes this seriously, and that there is some form of restorative justice for all of the harm that has been done."