Ophthalmology Departments Remain Among the Least Diverse Clinical Departments at United States Medical Schools
| Autor: | Susan H. Forster, Christopher C. Teng, Kristen Harris Nwanyanwu, Elizabeth Fairless |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Male
medicine.medical_specialty Faculty Medical Students Medical education Population Ethnic group Article 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Ophthalmology Underrepresented Minority Ethnicity Medicine Humans Health Workforce Minority Groups Schools Medical 030304 developmental biology 0303 health sciences education.field_of_study business.industry Internship and Residency Secondary data Cultural Diversity Hispanic or Latino humanities Health equity United States Black or African American Workforce 030221 ophthalmology & optometry Pacific islanders Female business Graduation Education Medical Undergraduate |
| Zdroj: | Ophthalmology |
| Popis: | Purpose The current demographics of the ophthalmology workforce do not reflect the diverse United States population, which has implications for addressing health disparities. The demographics of ophthalmology department faculty may influence the recruitment of underrepresented students into the field. This study sought to determine how the racial and ethnic demographics of ophthalmology department faculty compare with those of other clinical departments at United States medical schools. Design Secondary data analysis of medical school faculty demographic data from the 2019 American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) Faculty Roster. Participants Clinical faculty and department chairs at United States medical schools. Methods We analyzed the racial and ethnic demographics of clinical department faculty and department chairpersons using data from the 2019 AAMC Faculty Roster. We calculated the proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) faculty in ophthalmology and in 17 other clinical departments. We analyzed these data for statistically significant differences between ophthalmology and other clinical departments. In addition, we compared the percentage of URM ophthalmology faculty with the proportion of URM persons among graduating United States medical students and in the United States population using data from the Medical School Graduation Questionnaire and the United States census, respectively. Main Outcome Measures The proportion of URM persons, defined as Black, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander among clinical faculty and department chairs. Results Ophthalmology faculty are less racially and ethnically diverse than graduating medical students and the general United States population. When compared with 17 other clinical departments, ophthalmology has the third-lowest proportion of URM faculty, with only radiology and orthopedic surgery having a smaller proportion of URM faculty. These differences were statistically significant in most departments (12 of 18). No statistically significant difference was found in the proportion of URM department chairs in ophthalmology compared with most other clinical departments, although the absolute number of URM chairs in ophthalmology is low at only 8 chairpersons. Conclusions More work must be done to increase the recruitment of URM physicians into ophthalmology faculty positions to obtain parity with other clinical departments and with the diverse patient populations that physicians serve. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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