A Conversation with Jay P. Greene: How the Association of American Medical Colleges Lost Its Way

New research reveals how the organization that oversees medical education abandoned objectivity for ideology.

Jay P. Greene, PhD, is the Director of Research at Do No Harm, a nonprofit organization that “protects healthcare from the disastrous consequences of identity politics.” His research covers a diverse set of topics in the areas of education and health policy. He is also a senior fellow at the Defense of Freedom Institute.

Why this conversation matters: This chat discusses Do No Harm’s new report, “How The AAMC Fails to Read and Correctly Interpret the Research it Cites,” which illustrates how the AAMC’s political agenda has undermined its authority on medical research. Because of this ideological focus, sound medical policy and future medical doctors are in jeopardy. If we ignore bad science now, Western society will pay for it later.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

RtW: Jay, you’ve spent much of your career studying how institutions shape knowledge and policy. What led you to focus on medical organizations like the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)? Why should people outside medicine care about what’s happening inside these institutions?

Greene: The AMA and AAMC provide some of the worst examples of respected institutions abandoning their scientific credibility to advance political agendas. They have done it to protect racial preferences and gender ideology. Unless they feel like there is a reputational, political, and ultimately financial cost for doing this, they will continue to undermine institutional credibility. I try to expose when they abuse or misrepresent scientific findings to impose these costs—not because I want to harm them, but because I’m hoping they can improve. No one can be an expert on all matters. We rely on institutions that represent expert authority to help us make sensible decisions on a host of issues, from healthcare to economics.