In 2018, the New York University School of Medicine announced free tuition for enrolling students. A stated metric was the growth in attracting more diverse candidates and greater placement of primary care physicians in underserved areas. MarketPlace aired an update on the program’s progress. A quick glance at the stated metric suggests this effort has not yielded the anticipated results.

The hypothesis was that tuition was a significant barrier to entry, and due to the likelihood of student loan debt, medical students would select specialties that paid the highest salaries over primary care or other lower-compensation medical fields. ‘Free’ is complex and has not vacated all the anticipated barriers. The growth of diverse and challenged socio-economic students has not been as expected.

Leading with a metric can mask the more significant investment we seek to actualize. NYU’s School of Medicine has additional levers and strategies to launch to address the national shortage of medical professionals. The metric might get the headline, but the work that matters may be buried in the heart of the story.