Towards Inclusion: a Guidebook for Championing Diversity for Internal Medicine Chief Medical Residents

Beyond diversity recruitment: Next steps to ensure that underrepresented emergency medicine residents thrive

A diverse workforce in emergency medicine (EM) aims to improve patient care by addressing racism in health care, increasing representation in medicine, and improving the quality of training for all residents. Many EM residency programs have launched recruitment efforts to attract residents from diverse backgrounds. However, recruitment efforts only represent the first step in building a culturally responsible workforce. Trainees who are underrepresented in medicine must be welcomed into an inclusive training environment that has been thoughtfully constructed before they arrive. This type of supportive environment can be achieved by shifting away from majority-serving ideals and building an informed infrastructure that functions to help all trainees succeed. We expand upon challenges and areas of opportunity at the individual, departmental, and institutional levels and describe common pitfalls when trying to create inclusive spaces for residents including lack of vision alignment, inadequate financial investment, and performative allyship. We also propose strategies that focus specifically on actionable changes that residency program, departmental, and institutional leadership can implement to mitigate these challenges.

Gender and Racial Representation Trends Among Internal Medicine Department Chairs from 2010-2020

BACKGROUND

Quality medical education, reduction in health disparities, and healthcare research that includes all members of society are enhanced by diversity in departments of internal medicine (IM). Research on increasing diversity within the academic medicine student body or faculty notes the important role of leadership. Yet, there is a scarcity in research into diversity in leadership.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to go beyond aggregate numbers and answer the question: What is the level of parity representation, by gender and race, at department chair positions in academic IM departments?

DESIGN

A cross-sectional analysis of race/ethnicity and gender in IM medical school departments from 2010 to 2020 was conducted using data from the American Association of Medical College's (AAMC) Faculty Roster. The proportion of IM department chairs to IM faculty by race/ethnicity for each year (2010-2020) was used to calculate the Leadership Parity Index (LPI) in this study. LPI by gender and by gender and race/ethnicity were also calculated for each year.

RESULTS

In aggregate numbers, Black or African American and Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin faculty remain under-represented in academic IM each making up, on average, approximately 4% of the total IM faculty. The LPI calculations revealed that faculty who identified as White were consistently over-represented as department chairs while Asian faculty were consistently under-represented in leadership and ranked lowest in leadership parity among the ethnic groups studied. The leadership parity index also showed that women faculty across all races were under-represented.

CONCLUSION

Women and Asian faculty encounter a ceiling effect that may be at play in IM departments. While significant progress still needs to be made in the representation of under-represented minorities, the findings of this study show that aggregate data does not provide a true picture of equity and parity in Internal Medicine faculties.

Chief Residency Selection in Internal Medicine: Who Is Left Out?

Little progress has been made in improving racial, gender, or intersectional diversity within academic internal medicine (IM). Chief Residency fulfills a unique opportunity to target diversity efforts; Chief Residents (CR) are integral in creating an inclusive environment and support system for IM trainees, and the position serves as a steppingstone for future leadership positions within academia. However, the CR selection process often lacks transparency and includes steps that are fraught with bias, thereby disadvantaging underrepresented minority groups from gaining important experience needed to climb the academic ladder. We describe a more standardized selection process that will improve recruitment and selection of more diverse CRs and ultimately improve the recruitment, retention, and promotion of more diverse faculty within academic internal medicine. Key recommendations include an open call for applications, the use of standardized and structured interviews, and the formation of a diverse selection committee to conduct a transparent selection process based on explicitly defined criteria.