AMA Foundation faces allegations of racial discrimination in scholarships

The American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation is facing allegations from the watchdog group Do No Harm regarding racial preferences in its Physicians of Tomorrow scholarship program. Do No Harm submitted a complaint to the IRS in April, alleging that certain scholarships were explicitly restricted to medical students of specific races.

According to the watchdog, while the foundation briefly removed these scholarship listings from its website following the initial complaint, they appear to have been restored. The scholarships in question include the Dr. Richard Allen Williams and Genita Evangelista Johnson/Association of Black Cardiologists Scholarship, the Underrepresented in Medicine Scholarship, and the Patricia L. Austin Family Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship. These awards, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, reportedly include eligibility requirements based on being African American, Black, Latine, Hispanic, or Indigenous.

Dr. Kurt Miceli, chief medical officer at Do No Harm, stated that the foundation has made only superficial changes and that these opportunities should not be awarded based on race.