The following is a summary of “National trends in distribution of underrepresented minorities within United States general surgery residency programs: A longitudinal panel study,” published in the JUNE 2023 issue of Surgery by Carter, et al.

The cultural affinity between patients and healthcare providers has been shown to enhance satisfaction with healthcare. For a study, researchers sought to examine trends in racial/ethnic diversity and inclusion within general surgery residency programs from 2005 to 2019.

Data on race/ethnicity were collected from multiple sources, including surveys of 4th-year medical students conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Electronic Residency Application Service, and general surgery residencies affiliated with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Temporal trends in minority representation were analyzed for statistical significance.

The proportion of underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities in medicine (URiMs) among graduating MDs increased from 7.6% in 2005 to 11.8% in 2019 (P < 0.0001). Similarly, the proportion of URiMs among applicants to surgery residency programs also increased significantly from 2005 to 2019 (P < 0.0001). However, the representation of URiMs among general surgery residents remained stagnant at approximately (≈8.5%), and the percentage of programs without URiMs remained around (≈18.8%).

Despite the growing proportion of URiMs among medical school graduates and surgery residency applicants, there was no improvement in URiM representation among surgery trainees nor a reduction in the percentage of programs without URiMs. Further research is needed to understand better the factors influencing URiMs’ preferences for residency programs.

Source: americanjournalofsurgery.com/article/S0002-9610(23)00011-9/fulltext