Diversity pipelines: The rationale to recruit and support minority physicians

Abstract

Funding and support: By JACEP Open policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article as per ICMJE conflict of interest guidelines (see www.icmje.org). The authors have stated that no such relationships exist.

Strategic surgery recruitment programs can enhance diversity and reinforce pipelines

“…1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 Yet, structural barriers remain pervasive for women and historically excluded and underrepresented groups in medicine (URiM), which includes Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx (i.e., mainland Puerto Rican and Mexican American), Native American (i.e., American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian), Pacific Islander, and ‘Other’ populations. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 Although Black and Hispanic groups comprise 12.5% and 18.3% (totaling 30.8%) of the US population, representation in medical schools, surgical training programs, and surgical faculty is disproportionately low according to Aggarwal et al using the AAMC (American Association of Medical Colleges) data reports. 4 For example, Black and Hispanic men represent 2.9% and 3.2% of matriculating medical students, respectively, but an even lower proportion of surgical trainees and faculty.…”

“…Physician workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been shown to improve the quality of the learning environment and overall patient care. 1 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 Most importantly, working in groups with racially/ethnically diverse membership is more efficient and innovative than analogous homogenous groups because DEI injects the intellectual abilities of the URiM contingent that would otherwise be missing from the overall workforce, thereby enriching the surgical dialog both locally and nationally. Therefore, surgical departments must prioritize DEI by establishing innovative recruitment (pipeline) and retention strategies to improve the proportion of surgical URiMs, specifically from male students to surgical trainees and female trainees to surgical faculty and leaders.…”

“…Therefore, surgical departments must prioritize DEI by establishing innovative recruitment (pipeline) and retention strategies to improve the proportion of surgical URiMs, specifically from male students to surgical trainees and female trainees to surgical faculty and leaders. 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 …”

“…Strategically designed pipeline programs have been shown to successfully recruit and graduate women and URiM students in the health sciences and ultimately into surgical residency programs. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 Toney's article chronicles a pipeline program that spanned from preschool through graduate school. The Urban Health Program (UHP) via the Early Outreach Program (EOP) that was active between 1978 and 2011, resulted in 5,327° awarded by University of Illinois Chicago to UHP students.…”

“…Therefore, it is imperative to align mentorship programs with recruitment programs by capitalizing on both URiM and non-URiM culturally sensitive faculty, residents, and senior medical students. 5 , 6 URiM residents and faculty can be empowered by spearheading initiatives that improve DEI within the institution, foster mentorship bidirectionally, lead to professional fulfillment, and contribute to the cultural diversity within academic surgery. However, institutions must be cognizant of a “minority tax,” which places the burden of increasing “minorities” in surgical programs on the existing “minority” surgical trainees and faculty.…”