Interim Dean Dr. Francis Lee sent the following message Jan. 26 to the Weill Cornell Medicine community.
Dear Colleagues,
After much consideration, I am reaching out to inform you that Weill Cornell Medicine will no longer submit data to U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) for its medical school rankings.
While medical schools share many common goals, we also have unique institutional cultures and missions, as well as different pedagogical approaches and opportunities. Current USNWR rankings do not capture the breadth and depth of our educational offerings.
The core intention of medical education is creating the next generation of healers. As an academic medical center, our students participate in the care of a diverse patient population in the New York City area, and in groundbreaking research for a wide range of diseases. Our institution has a robust history of medical education that emphasizes three themes – the scientific basis of medicine, patient care and physicianship. We train a pipeline of physicians, who provide the best possible care to their patients, and who serve as leaders in academic medicine.
Many educators have long been frustrated by the potential for the USNWR rankings to influence the incentives and practices of medical schools. Critically, the rankings measure more about the students who enter the school than about the physicians who graduate, or about the actual substance and quality of the medical education we provide along the way. The volatility of the rankings, and the lack of transparency about the formulas and algorithms upon which they are based, also speak to the inadequacy of this annual survey.
We believe that it is important to assess and benchmark our educational programming publicly. Weill Cornell Medicine remains committed to making information available to help prospective students identify the best match for their intentions and aspirations.
Francis Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Interim Dean, Weill Cornell Medicine
Interim Provost for Medical Affairs, Cornell University