The 1960s civil rights movement spurred affirmative action in medical education, but by the mid-1970s, the trend stalled. In 1991 the Association of American Medical Colleges began a long-range strategy to improve early (K-12) academic training of underrepresented minority group applicants to medical schools. This program has also slowed. Both affirmative action and long-term reform efforts are needed. (Author/MSE)