Beyond the Checklist: Why Attacks on DEIA Put Medical Students’ Day-One Skills at Risk
- Dr. Sharon Washington
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
September 4, 2025 Dr. Sharon G.E. Washington
Opening Message
When incoming medical students arrive on campus, they bring more than ambition and textbooks. They are expected to demonstrate a core set of day-one competencies—skills identified by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) as essential for navigating medical training and, eventually, clinical practice.
On paper, the AAMC’s 17 Core Competencies seem straightforward: knowledge, skills, and attitudes that prepare students for the rigor of medical school. These include critical thinking, communication, resilience, teamwork, and professionalism. Yet if we pause to consider the cultural and institutional realities shaping higher education, it becomes clear: these competencies cannot be achieved in isolation from diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism (DEIA) or from somatic awareness practices that sustain learner well-being.
Without these dimensions, competencies risk becoming hollow checklists—applied in ways that reinforce hierarchy, perpetuate bias, and erode the humanity of both learners and patients.
The Day-One Skills Medical Schools Expect
The AAMC identifies a wide range of competencies that students are expected to demonstrate as soon as they arrive on campus. These include the ability to:
Think critically and solve complex problems
Apply scientific knowledge to real-world scenarios
Communicate effectively with patients, peers, and faculty
Act with professionalism and accountability
Collaborate in team-based settings
Manage stress and demonstrate resilience under pressure
Show empathy, compassion, and cultural humility in interactions
Together, these skills form the foundation of professional readiness in medical education. Yet they cannot be fully realized in learning environments that deny the role of equity, cultural humility, and inclusive curricula.
(See the full list of 17 expected skills here).
How Political Attacks on DEIA Undermine Student Preparation
Unfortunately, the current political climate is eroding the very conditions that allow undergraduates and pre-med students to develop the AAMC day-one competencies. The dismantling of DEIA is not an abstract policy debate—it has both immediate and long-term implications for the pipeline of future physicians.
Cuts to DEIA Programs Limit Growth Opportunities
When higher education institutions cut DEIA programming, students lose access to cross-cultural dialogue, affinity spaces, and mentorship—all of which cultivate humility, empathy, and belonging.
As I argued in The Educate Act 2025: A Dangerous Prescription for Medical Education and Vulnerable Communities, laws restricting DEIA erase marginalized voices while also depriving all learners of the opportunity to grow into culturally responsive physicians.
Without these opportunities, students risk carrying narrow worldviews into patient care, undermining their ability to practice with cultural humility and inclusivity.
Restrictions on Inclusive Curricula Create Erasure, Not Neutrality
Policies that force educators to strip curricula of identity-specific references don’t create neutrality—they create erasure.
As I highlighted in The Hypocrisy of Anti-DEI Laws, these restrictions actively obstruct equity under the guise of fairness.
Pre-med students become underprepared to encounter patients whose lives are shaped by racism, immigration status, gender identity, or socioeconomic barriers.
Weakening this exposure diminishes the very critical thinking, adaptability, and cultural humility that medical schools expect from day-one learners.
Political Fear and Polarization Weaken Resilience
Political polarization compounds the problem, leaving students—particularly those from marginalized backgrounds—carrying added layers of stress, hypervigilance, and trauma.
As I wrote in Deja Vu: Project 2025 and the Revival of Historical Resistance to Equality, today’s suppression of equity mirrors past eras of segregation and backlash.
Students of color, first-generation learners, LGBTQ+ students, and others from historically excluded communities often enter classrooms wondering if they will be safe, respected, or supported.
This constant emotional taxation is not incidental—it directly undermines learners’ ability to build resilience, manage stress, and arrive fully prepared for medical training.
Political Turbulence Creates a Second Curriculum
The ripple effect extends beyond individual students into the broader academic environment.
As I explained in Under Pressure: Navigating Workplace Stress in Healthcare Amid Political Upheaval, political turbulence erodes trust and stability in professional spaces.
For students, the educational climate itself becomes unstable and unsafe, turning survival into a second curriculum.
Instead of focusing solely on biology or chemistry, students are forced to learn how to endure systems hostile to their presence—a drain on the very energy needed for professional growth.
The cumulative effect is clear: attacks on DEIA are not simply limiting policy—they are actively shaping whether the next generation of physicians can embody the very competencies the AAMC expects.
Filling the Gap Through Critically Conscious Connections (CCC)
If political attacks weaken preparation, we must create intentional spaces where learners, faculty, and leaders can cultivate the very skills under threat. This is the mission of Critically Conscious Connections (CCC)—a platform that integrates equity, somatic awareness, and professional development to sustain both people and institutions.
Memberships for Learners and Faculty
Our membership plans offer more than access to courses—they create a community of practice where members get:
Monthly live webinars addressing real-time equity and wellness challenges in healthcare
An on-demand library of courses and resources designed for busy clinical schedules
Reflective dialogue spaces that normalize struggle, model feedback cultures, and encourage critical inquiry
Coaching for BIPOC and Allies
Through 1:1 coaching, CCC provides tailored support for:
Marginalized learners and professionals receive tailored coaching in boundary-setting, resilience, and leadership development, affirming their lived experiences.
Allies and leaders gain confidential support in metabolizing defensiveness, offering feedback across differences, and aligning intention with action.
Customized Courses for Today’s Needs
CCC also offers customized courses that integrate equity, wellness, and leadership development. Topics include:
Stress Reduction & Burnout Prevention through somatic and reflective practices
Social Drivers of Health and their impact on patient outcomes
History of Health Inequities, connecting past harms to present-day challenges
Navigating Bias in Patient Care, with practical scripts and role-plays
Generative Conflict and Feedback Skills, transforming tension into growth
Why This Matters
At a time when DEIA programs are being dismantled, CCC offers a sustaining alternative. It ensures that competencies like resilience, empathy, cultural humility, and professionalism remain alive—not as abstract ideals, but as daily practices in medical education.
By combining community membership, coaching, and targeted courses, CCC equips both learners and faculty to do more than endure today’s challenges. It equips them to transform healthcare education and practice from within. Together, we can ensure that cultural awareness, humility, and empathy remain at the center of medical training—no matter the political climate.
Explore our learning platform: Critically Conscious Connections
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