US News updates methodology after criticism

In January, several prominent medical schools said they would no longer  participate  in  U.S. News' annual rankings, following in the footsteps of law schools that did the same last year.

Some of the schools that removed themselves from the rankings include Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Stanford University.

According to Katrina Armstrong, dean of Columbia's Valegos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the medical school rankings "perpetuate a narrow and elitist perspective on medical education" and emphasize "self-reinforcing criteria such as reputation and institutional wealth, rather than measuring a school's success in educating a diverse and well-trained cohort of doctors able to change medicine for the better and meet society's needs."

Following this backlash, U.S. News developed new methodology for this year's medical school rankings, which include an evaluation of faculty resources, academic achievements from entering students, and research productivity. Although schools that said they would not participate in the rankings did not share data with the organization, U.S. News  said it used publicly available data to fill in any missing information.

Methodology for the research rankings

For the research rankings, U.S. News  assessed each school's performance based on a weighted average of the following indicators:

• Research activity, which includes total federal research activity, total research activity per faculty member, total NIH research grants at the school and its affiliated hospitals, and average NIH research grants per faculty. The last two categories are new to this year's rankings, and the indicator makes up 45% of a school's rank.
• Qualitative assessment, which includes a peer assessment score from medical school deans, deans of academic affairs, and more, and a residency directors assessment score. Each make up 12.5% of a school's rank, down from 15% last year.
• Student selectivity, which includes median MCAT score, median undergraduate GPA, and acceptance rate. This indicator makes up 15% of a school's rank, down from 20% last year.
• Faculty resources, which is measured as the ratio of full-time faculty to full-time MD or DO students in 2022. This indicator makes up 15% of a school's rank, up from 10% last year.

The top 10 medical schools for research

According to  U.S. News, the top 10 medical schools for research, including some ties, are:

1. Harvard University*
2. Johns Hopkins University
3. University of Pennsylvania*
4. Columbia University*
5. Duke University*
5. Stanford University*
5. University of California, San Francisco
5. Vanderbilt University
5. Washington University in St. Louis*
10. Cornell University*
10. New York University
10. Yale University

*Indicates that the school did not participate in U.S. News' statistical survey for this year's rankings and data from the prior year was used instead

Methodology for the primary care rankings

For the primary care rankings, U.S. News  assessed each school's performance based on a weighted average of the following indicators:

• Primary care productivity, which includes the number of medical school graduates practicing in primary care specialties and the percentage of graduates entering into primary care residencies. This indicator makes up 50% of a school's rank, up from 40% last year.
• Qualitative assessment, which includes a peer assessment score from medical school deans, deans of academic affairs, and more, and a residency directors assessment score. Each make up 12.5% of a school's rank, down from 15% last year.
• Student selectivity, which includes median MCAT score, median undergraduate GPA, and acceptance rate. This indicator makes up 15% of a school's rank, with some weighting changes in each category from last year.
• Faculty resources, which is measured as the ratio of full-time faculty to full-time MD or DO students in 2022. This indicator makes up 10% of a school's rank, down from 15% last year.

The top 10 medical schools for primary care

The top 10 medical schools for primary care, including some ties, are:

1. Washington University
2. University of Minnesota
3. Oregon Health and Science University
4. University of New Mexico
5. University of California, San Francisco
6. University of California, Davis
7. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
8. University of Colorado
8. University of Nebraska Medical Center
10. University of California, Los Angeles

The best medical school for 8 specialties

U.S. News  also ranked hospitals within eight medical specialties. These rankings were based on votes by medical school deans and senior faculty from the responding schools. Respondents were asked to identify up to 15 schools offering the best programs in each specialty.

The top schools in each specialty are:

• Anesthesiology: Johns Hopkins University
• Family medicine: Oregon Health and Science University
• Internal medicine: Johns Hopkins University
• Obstetrics and gynecology: Harvard University*
• Pediatrics: University of Pennsylvania*
• Psychiatry: Columbia University*
• Radiology: Harvard University
• Surgery: Johns Hopkins University

*Indicates that the school did not participate in U.S. News' statistical survey for this year's rankings and data from the prior year was used instead

(U.S. News & World Report research rankings, accessed 5/12; U.S. News & World Report research rankings, accessed 5/12; U.S. News & World Report primary care rankings, accessed 5/12; U.S. News & World Report methodology, 5/10; PR Newswire, 5/11; Saul, New York Times, 5/11)

WalletHub   on Monday released its 2023 ranking of the "Best & Worst States for Doctors," which ranks all 50 states and Washington, D.C. on factors such as average annual wage and quality of public hospital systems. Access the full story below.