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To the Editor.— Despite the title, the study by Drs Davidson and Lewis¹ has nothing to do with affirmative action in one respect and everything to do with affirmative action in another. First, it has nothing to do with it because, as the authors discussed, one is unable to separate the students admitted because of race from those admitted under other special considerations. Second, the study confirms that the admissions process is an art, not a science.

Perhaps medical school admissions could be improved by focusing on outcomes rather than process. Process measures are only as good as their ability to predict outcomes, and outcome measures are only as good as their reflection of what really matters. For example, the mammography rate is a good process measure only if it accurately reflects the rate of breast cancer detection and consequent successful treatment. In the case of medical school admissions, undergraduate . . . [Full Text of this Article]