Background Though the USA is becoming increasingly diverse, the physician workforce contains a disproportionately low number of physicians from racial and ethnic groups that are described as underrepresented in medicine (URiM). Mentorship has been proposed as one way to improve the retention and experiences of URiM physicians and trainees. The objective of this systematic review was to identify and describe mentoring programs for URiM physicians in academic medicine and to describe important themes from existing literature that can aid in the development of URiM mentorship programs. Methods The authors searched PubMed, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Cochrane databases, and included original publications that described a US mentorship program involving academic medical doctors at the faculty or trainee level and were created for physicians who are URiM or provided results stratified by race/ethnicity. Results Our search yielded 4,548 unique citations and 31 publications met our inclusion criteria. Frequently cited objectives of these programs were to improve research skills, to diversify representation in specific fields, and to recruit and retain URiM participants. Subjective outcomes were primarily participant satisfaction with the program and/or work climate. The dyad model of mentoring was the most common, though several novel models were also described. Program evaluations were primarily subjective and reported high satisfaction, although some reported objective outcomes including publications, retention, and promotion. All showed satisfactory outcomes for the mentorship programs. Discussion This review describes a range of successful mentoring programs for URiM physicians. Our recommendations based on our review include the importance of institutional support for diversity, tailoring programs to local needs and resources, training mentors, and utilizing URiM and non-URiM mentors. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11606-020-06478-7.

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In the United States, race-based disparities in cardiovascular disease care have proven to be pervasive, deadly, and expensive. African American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native/Indigenous American individuals are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and are less likely to receive high-quality, evidence-based medical care as compared with their White American counterparts. Although the United States population is diverse, the cardiovascular workforce that provides its much-needed care lacks diversity. The available data show that care provided by physicians from racially diverse backgrounds is associated with better quality, both for minoritized patients and for majority patients. Not only is cardiovascular workforce diversity associated with improvements in health care quality, but racial diversity among academic teams and research scientists is linked with research quality. We outline documented barriers to achieving workforce diversity and suggest evidence-based strategies to overcome these barriers. Key strategies to enhance racial diversity in cardiology include improving recruitment and retention of racially diverse members of the cardiology workforce and focusing on cardiovascular health equity for patients. This review draws attention to academic institutions, but the implications should be considered relevant for nonacademic and community settings as well.

Introduction: Significant gaps remain in the training of health professionals regarding the care of individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). Although curricula have been developed at the undergraduate medical education level, few materials address the education of graduate medical trainees. The purpose of this curriculum was to develop case-based modules targeting internal medicine residents to address LGBT primary health care. Methods: We designed and implemented a four-module, case-based, interactive curriculum at one university's internal medicine residency program. The modules contained facilitator and learner guides and addressed four main content areas: understanding gender and sexuality; performing a sensitive history and physical examination; health promotion and disease prevention; and mental health, violence, and reproductive health. Knowledge, perceived importance, and confidence were assessed before and after each module to assess curricular effectiveness and acceptability. General medicine faculty delivered these modules. Results: Perceived importance of LGBT topics was high at baseline and remained high after the curricular intervention. Confidence significantly increased in many areas, including being able to provide resources to patients and to institute gender-affirming practices (p < .05). Knowledge improved significantly on almost all topics (p < .0001). Faculty felt the materials gave enough preparation to teach, and residents perceived that the faculty were knowledgeable. Discussion: This resource provides an effective curriculum for training internal medicine residents to better understand and feel confident addressing LGBT primary health care needs. Despite limitations, this is an easily transferable curriculum that can be adapted in a variety of curricular settings.

This curriculum pilot demonstrated an improvement in IM residents' knowledge of and confidence in providing care to LGBT patients. Our results suggest that curricular materials can be developed by experts in LGBT health and utilized effectively by nonexpert faculty to increase residents' knowledge and confidence regarding LGBT healthcare.