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12/12/25

Does clinical exposure to different skin tones during training improve diagnostic ability?

Shammoon, Yusra; Coulson, Anna; Trigg, Bethan; Morrison, Nariell; Potts, Adam; Pain, Moira; Oguntimehin, Olamide; Hothersall-Davies, Eleanor J; Hankins, Richard; Brown, Celia A; Sam, Amir H. Med Educ.

Collection Topics
Equity, Access, and Timeliness Health Professional Education
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Summary

Evidence shows that medical students are less accurate at diagnosing conditions in skin of color compared to in white skin, regardless of their clinical exposure. This British study suggests that exposure alone does not address this gap and concludes that targeted educational strategies are needed to improve diagnostic equity and accuracy across different skin tones.

Read the paper
Shammoon Y, Coulson A, Trigg B, et al. Does clinical exposure to different skin tones during training improve diagnostic ability? Med Educ. 2026;60(4):410-417.