Racial and Ethnic Diversity Within U.S. Residencies: Trends from 2011 to 2019

Ugochi T Aguwa; Chibuzo J Aguwa; Gabriel I Onor; Divya Srikumaran; Joseph Canner; O'Rese J Knight; Laura K Green; Fasika Woreta

doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.01.005

Racial and Ethnic Diversity Within U.S. Residencies: Trends from 2011 to 2019

J Surg Educ. 2022 May-Jun;79(3):587-594. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.01.005. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Authors

Ugochi T Aguwa¹, Chibuzo J Aguwa², Gabriel I Onor³, Divya Srikumaran⁴, Joseph Canner⁵, O'Rese J Knight⁶, Laura K Green⁷, Fasika Woreta⁸

Affiliations

¹ Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
² Meharry Medical College School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee.
³ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁵ Johns Hopkins Surgery Center for Outcomes Research, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁶ Department of Ophthalmology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
⁷ Department of Ophthalmology, Krieger Eye Institute, Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland.
⁸ Department of Ophthalmology, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Electronic address: fworeta1@jhmi.edu.

PMID: 35153146
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2022.01.005

Abstract

Objective: Examine trends in the proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) residents from 2011 to 2019 across all specialties and investigate differences between surgical and non-surgical specialties.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: N/A.

Participants: The authors extracted data on the proportion of URM residents in all specialties from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education yearly reports.

Results: There was a statistically significant decline in the proportion of URM residents in surgical specialties (p < 0.01) from 2011 (9.9%) to 2019 (9.1%) and a significant increase in the proportion of URM residents in non-surgical specialties (p < 0.01) from 2011 (9.6%) to 2019 (10.2%).

Conclusions: This study emphasizes the need to increase recruitment of URMs in medicine, especially in surgical specialties. Findings from this study can inform much-needed initiatives to address barriers to entry for diverse applicants within specialties that lack diversity and have shown minimal improvement over time.

Keywords: Diversity; race; residency; underrepresented minority.

MeSH terms

Cross-Sectional Studies
Cultural Diversity
Education, Medical, Graduate
Ethnicity
Humans
Internship and Residency*
United States