A First Step Towards Autonomy in Medical Education
A First Step Towards Autonomy in Medical Education
by Joni Ruller McGary at Brownstone Institute
Last week a significant brief was delivered to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s Chief of Staff, urging explicit naming and inclusion of medical training schools in the implementation guidance for President Trump’s Executive Order, “Keeping Education Accessible and Ending Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates in Schools.” Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Mr. Vince Haley, Director, Domestic Policy Center were also copied. The document was a collaborative effort, signed by a coalition of health freedom organizations and medical professionals.
By way of background, the Executive Order (EO) signed on February 15, 2025, aims to end Covid-19 vaccine mandates across educational institutions. The EO tasked the Secretary of Education with issuing guidance to elementary schools, local educational agencies, State educational agencies, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education regarding those entities’ legal obligations with respect to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection under law, as relevant to coercive Covid-19 school mandates.
Most colleges had already dropped mandates before the EO was issued, but many healthcare training programs had not. We saw an opportunity to lobby for guidance that ensures protections specifically for healthcare students.
The initial response was very encouraging. The Secretary’s office acknowledged the brief as both timely and relevant, and we’ve been assured it will be passed directly to the team drafting the EO’s implementation guidance. This represents a crucial first step in ensuring that healthcare students receive the same protections as students in other disciplines.
The EO defines “institution of higher education” as specified in 20 U.S.C.1001(a). This definition does not specifically name or include health training programs or medical schools, though one can reasonably argue that any such program is indeed an “institution of higher education” and thus subject to the EO. Without explicit direction, medical and healthcare schools/programs may feel free to continue claiming exceptional status. This pattern has already been observed in systems like the University of California, where some of their medical training programs maintain vaccine mandates despite systemwide policy changes removing such requirements.
Our brief makes the case that medical training schools, including schools of medicine, nursing, physician assistant programs, and allied health professional training, must be explicitly named in the Department’s forthcoming guidance. Although most institutions of higher education had already dropped mandates before the issuance of the EO, healthcare programs continued to enforce them. We were concerned that without clear direction, administrators of these programs would not feel bound by the EO.
This clarity is essential for several reasons:
- Medical and Healthcare Students Face Unique Pressures
Unlike students in other disciplines, healthcare students face overwhelming institutional pressure to comply with vaccine mandates. In many cases, students do not have the option for either religious or medical exemptions and they are often under threat of being removed from their programs or denied clinical placements. This coercive atmosphere is fundamentally incompatible with the principle of informed consent, which these institutions themselves purport to uphold. - The Clinical Requirement Argument is Obsolete
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) formally rescinded its Covid-19 vaccine requirement for healthcare workers in June 2023. This renders the justification that students must be vaccinated to access clinical sites outdated. Nonetheless, many clinical sites persist in enforcing mandates, and educational institutions are reluctant to challenge them for fear of disrupting crucial partnerships. - Mandates Lack Sufficient Scientific Justification for Young Adults
A growing body of scientific evidence challenges the benefit-risk profile of Covid-19 vaccine mandates, particularly for young adults. Our brief references several key studies, including a CDC-funded JAMA article documenting myocarditis risks and a comprehensive risk-benefit analysis that concludes there is insufficient evidence to justify mandatory vaccination for this age group. - The Healthcare Worker Shortage is a National Crisis
The United States faces a well-documented shortage of healthcare professionals, including doctors and nurses. Covid-19 vaccine mandates have quietly worsened this crisis by discouraging otherwise qualified and passionate students from pursuing or continuing their medical education.
We are encouraged by the positive reception of the brief, but the work is far from complete. Though beyond the scope of this EO, the issue of continued mandates at clinical sites must be addressed. Continued work in this area is essential, not only in the context of Covid-19 vaccines but to set a precedent for any future impediments to informed consent.
Future healthcare providers have the same right to bodily autonomy as the patients they will someday serve. We must ensure that personal medical decisions remain with individuals, especially those who will one day be entrusted with our nation’s health.
The full brief can be read at this link.
Thank you to all the supporters and signatories of this initiative:
Ryan Walker, Executive Vice President, Heritage Action
Leslie Manookian, President, Health Freedom Defense Fund
Sally Fallon Morell, President, The Weston A. Price Foundation
Leah Wilson, Executive Director, Stand for Health Freedom
Twila Brase, RN, PHN, Co-founder and President, Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom
Lucia Sinatra, Co-founder, No College Mandates
Dr. Joseph Varon, President & Chief Medical Officer, Independent Medical Alliance (IMA)
Dr. Paul Marik, Chief Scientific Officer, Independent Medical Alliance (IMA)
Richard Amerling, MD; Nephrology and Internal Medicine; Academic Director, GoldCare
Dr. Dana Granberg-Nill, Chief Operating Officer, GoldCare
Jennifer Bauwens, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Family Studies, Family Research Council
Meg Kilgannon, Senior Fellow for Education Studies, Family Research Council
Jane M. Orient, M.D., Executive Director, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Melissa Alfieri-Collins, RN, BSN, New Jersey Healthcare Alliance for Choice (NJHAC)
A First Step Towards Autonomy in Medical Education
by Joni Ruller McGary at Brownstone Institute – Daily Economics, Policy, Public Health, Society