Postbaccalaureate program at Wayne State University School of Medicine: a 30-year report

In 1969, Wayne State University School of Medicine established the first postbaccalaureate program for medical students, with the focus on African American students whose applications to medical school had been rejected. The ten-month program was designed to improve students' scientific knowledge, academic skills, and personal adjustment and thereby ultimately to increase the number of African Americans enrolled in the school. The criteria included the quality of the student's high school, employment workload, parents' ability to assist financially, and several other factors. The school covered expenses, provided a living stipend, and guaranteed admission for students who attained a B average in the program. Consistent with the Bakke court decision, in 1979 the program eligibility was shifted to disadvantaged students irrespective of race or ethnicity; all other criteria remained unchanged. Until 1990 Wayne State University's program was the only one of its type. From 1969 to 1992, 214 African American students who could have graduated by 1997 had been admitted to the program: 192 (90%) of them attained a B average in the program and matriculated in the medical school, and 160 (83%) graduated. From 1978 (when the program was opened to all racial and ethnic groups) to 1992, 58 non-African American students who could have graduated by 1997 were been admitted to the program: 54 (93%) attained a B average and matriculated in the medical school, and 51 (94%) graduated. The program's success suggests that similar programs at more medical schools could have an immediate and substantial impact on the number of underrepresented-minority students who enter medical education and succeed.