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

Racial Diversity among United States Ophthalmology Residents: A Call to Action

“…The trend from 2011 to 2019 was a nominal (0.24%) increase in the proportion of URiMs in ophthalmology. Another recent study by Aguwa et al 4 revealed a significant decline in the proportion of URiM residents in all surgical specialties between 2011 and 2019, with an inverse trend showing an increase in URiM residents matriculating in nonsurgical specialties.…”

“…Several factors may explain the lack of diversity and concomitant failure to sufficiently increase diversity in our programs. Aguwa et al 4 suggest that declining and later exposure to ophthalmology in medical schools, competitiveness of residency programs, and the emphasis on higher board scores all may play a role. A lack of diverse role models and selection committees in our institutions is also potentially at fault.…”

“…It is also important to address the opposite end of the pipeline by committing to providing diverse physician role models as leaders in our faculty. 4 Academic departments should all commit to forming diversity committees and including URiM on all admissions and hiring committees, as well as in departmental leadership positions with full anti-racism training required for all department members. Sponsorship, in addition to mentorship, of URiM trainees by way of hiring them and making academic faculty positions attractive to them will also be crucial in this endeavor.…”

Addressing Disparities in Resident Attrition

“…The strikingly disparate levels of attrition demonstrated for trainees who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM) exposes some very real and concerning findings for our specialty.Although proportional representation in medical school for URiMs has improved over time, these diverse students are not ending up in the surgical specialties. [2][3][4] Despite increases in applications, match rates to surgery for certain URiMs (particularly Black/African American and Hispanic trainees) have actually declined in the last few decades. 2,3 Furthermore, data on how other types of underrepresentation, such as sexual or gender minority individuals and trainees with disabilities, or how intersectionality is affecting the success of students and residents, are extremely sparce.While many efforts in surgical education focus on recruitment, this article demonstrates the equal importance of failed retention, a phenomenon that is likely a reflection of surgical culture.…”

“…Although proportional representation in medical school for URiMs has improved over time, these diverse students are not ending up in the surgical specialties. [2][3][4] Despite increases in applications, match rates to surgery for certain URiMs (particularly Black/African American and Hispanic trainees) have actually declined in the last few decades. 2,3 Furthermore, data on how other types of underrepresentation, such as sexual or gender minority individuals and trainees with disabilities, or how intersectionality is affecting the success of students and residents, are extremely sparce.…”