Incentivizing Physician Diversity in Radiology

Abstract

In this article, the authors review the evolving state of diversity in the field of radiology. The authors discuss several early and recent historical legislative milestones that increased the equitable delivery of health care in the United States, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ensured that funds for Medicare reimbursement would be available only to desegregated hospitals. Furthermore, the authors examine the current state of diversity and representation in radiology, in which underrepresented minorities represent 8.3% of training and practicing radiologists, and women represent 27.8% of radiologists. Finally, the authors present arguments for diversity in the current medical education system, analyze hurdles to increasing representation in radiology, and consider the future of diversity and inclusiveness in the field.

Gender and racial diversity among plenary session speakers at the Society of Abdominal Radiology Annual Meetings: a five-year assessment

“…Similarly, race-based disparity was noted in Black and Hispanic faculty members, with a compounding effects with intersectionality of race and gender [3,6,[11][12][13].…”

“…Workforce diversity is a crucial concern in medicine and radiology [1][2][3]. Underrepresented in medicine (URM) demographics account for only 8.3% of training and practicing radiologists, and less than 1/3 of radiologists are women [3].…”

“…Workforce diversity is a crucial concern in medicine and radiology [1][2][3]. Underrepresented in medicine (URM) demographics account for only 8.3% of training and practicing radiologists, and less than 1/3 of radiologists are women [3]. Although the number of women entering medical schools nearly equals men, far less women choose radiology as their specialty [4].…”

You’re Biased! Deal With It

“…Implicit racial bias has emerged as the primary explanation for radiology's ongoing disparity [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Implicit bias represents attitudes or stereotypes, held without conscious awareness or intentional control, that may influence our perceptions, actions, and decisions in ways that may be counter to our explicit views [11].…”

“…Only 8% of radiology residents are underrepresented minorities (URMs), compared with 15% of Graduate Medical Education residents overall and 30% of the US population [2]. Of the 20 largest medical specialties, radiology ranks last, by percentage, in URM representation [3]. Addressing this disparity, and increasing diversity in radiology, is both a moral and a practical imperative.…”