June 09, 2021 A paper published last year that argued against affirmative action in medicine, and was subsequently retracted, may have had the unintended effect of broadening discussions around inclusivity and underrepresentation of minorities in clinical and academic circles, a newly published viewpoint suggests. According to Saima Karim, DO (Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH), and colleagues, the “white paper” written by electrophysiologist Norman Wang, MD (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, PA), which was widely condemned on social media after its publication in the Journal of the American Heart Association, essentially showed why concerted efforts are needed to address biases and institutional racism that harm healthcare workers and patients. Among other things, Wang suggested that mandatory affirmative action programs meant to promote diversity and inclusion can result in unqualified applicants entering medical school or CVD training programs, and that minorities may end up working in underserved areas because of the “inability to secure a job in other areas because of low professional qualifications.”