Measurement of American Indian and Alaska Native Racial Identity Among Medical School Applicants, Matriculants, and Graduates, 1996-2017

Key Points Question Are changes in collection of race/ethnicity data in American Medical College Application System surveys in 2002 associated with temporal trends in applicants, matriculants, and graduates who self-reported as American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN)? Findings This cohort study found that, after the change in data collection, the mean number of AIAN applicants increased by 78%; matriculants, 62%; and graduates, 94%. The numbers of AIAN applicants continued to increase at 10% per year following the change, but no significant change in trend was found for matriculants or graduates. Meaning These findings suggest that changing the method of race/ethnicity data collection captures more AIAN applicants, matriculants, and graduates, but yearly trends indicate few differences after the change in terms of AIAN graduates.