Changing Times and Changing Schools: An Investigation of Diversity and Institutional Isomorphism Among American Medical Schools

Abstract

This study investigates how pressures to increase diversity within American medical schools has influenced the change LCME policy, and how medical schools enact ambiguous rules within this institutionalized environment. I did this by conducting an in-depth content analysis on the diversity websites of selected American medical schools. After an investigation of their institutional discourses, I found that the LCME had a profound impact on the way diversity was portrayed at the institution, as most medical schools had initiated diversity action. Second, diversity had not just become central to the medical schools’ mission; in many cases, the importance of diversity had diffused as a way for medical schools to contribute to the broader community and the world. Finally, the new implementation of diversity seems to be wholesome and broad, focusing on different types of diversity and on all aspects of the medical school and beyond.