The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommends that all US medical schools procure a national background check on applicants upon their initial, conditional acceptance to medical school. The rationale for performing criminal background checks on accepted medical school applicants is based on the need to enhance the safety and well-being of patients and, to ascertain the ability of accepted applicants to eventually become licensed physicians.
In support of this recommendation, the AAMC has initiated an AMCAS-facilitated national background check service, through which Certiphi Screening, Inc. (a Vertical Screen® Company) will procure a national background report on applicants at the point of acceptance. (There is no additional fee associated with a background check.) In addition, beginning in May of each year, a national background report will be procured for a subset of applicants who are on a participating school's alternate list; medical schools will not receive such reports until the point of acceptance.
The AAMC has initiated this new service in order to recognize the desire of medical schools to procure appropriate national criminal history reports, and to prevent applicants from paying additional fees at each medical school to which they are accepted.
Policy Statement of Albert Einstein College of Medicine
All conditionally accepted applicants and alternate-listed applicants must consent to, submit to, and successfully complete a criminal background check. Failure to do so will constitute failure to meet the pre-matriculation requirements established by the College of Medicine and will result in the withdrawal of a conditionally accepted offer.
Matriculation and continued enrollment in the College of Medicine is contingent upon a completed criminal background check with acceptable results. Failure to consent to a criminal background check; refusal to provide necessary information to conduct a background check; failure to provide additional information wherein an investigation is warranted; and failure to comply with the investigatory procedures when a cause for further action is warranted due to
- the discovery of previously undisclosed information;
- the discovery of more egregious information than was previously disclosed; or,
- the discovery of conflicting information between or among the AMCAS Application and/or the Secondary Application, MSTP Supplemental Application and/or the Criminal Background Check Report and/or any and all documents considered part of an applicant’s AMCAS application, will result in disciplinary action up to, and including, withdrawal of a conditional offer of acceptance, refusal of admission, or dismissal from the College of Medicine.
The official Einstein policy document can be found here.