Graduates of Morehouse, Meharry, and Howard University medical schools, three historically Black institutions, are the most likely to devote themselves to primary care and serving underserved communities, according to a study published in a leading medical journal.  

The study in the June 15 Annals of Internal Medicine measured U.S. medical schools based on the communities where their graduates practice and whether those doctors practiced primary care. The Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., ranked as the first, second, and third, in that order, in social mission.

The study was authored by researchers at George Washington University and the work was funded by a grant from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. The researchers examined data from medical school graduates from 141 schools from 1999 to 2001 and developed a metric called the social mission score to evaluate medical school output. 

The ranking, according to officials at the three schools, results from the emphasis they have placed on serving underserved communities – a role the study emphasizes as critical to improving overall health care in the U.S. The study, being the first to score all U.S. medical schools on their ability to meet a social mission, shows wide variations among institutions in their production of physicians who practice primary care, work in underserved areas, and increase diversity in the medical field.

“This ranking is an acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and students and goes to the very core of what the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) has stood for from the very beginning – building a healthier America by focusing on those communities with the biggest health challenges,” said Morehouse School of Medicine president Dr. John E. Maupin, Jr. in a statement.