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Under-represented minorities in emergency medicine
Alden M Landry1, Jessica Stevens, Sean P Kelly
1Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
The Journal of Emergency Medicine
|March 16, 2013
Summary
Racial and ethnic minorities are under-represented in Emergency Medicine. Improving diversity requires addressing the pipeline of under-represented minority (URM) students in medical school.
Area of Science:
- Health Workforce Research
- Medical Education
- Health Equity
Background:
- Promoting diversity in the healthcare workforce is a national priority.
- Under-representation of minorities in healthcare contributes to health disparities.
- Increased diversity improves patient satisfaction and educational experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the racial and ethnic composition of medical students, Emergency Medicine residents, and practicing Emergency Medicine physicians.
- To assess diversity in Emergency Medicine against other specialties and the general US population.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional analysis of data from the Association of American Medical Colleges and the US Census.
- Defined under-represented minorities (URMs) as individuals of black, Latino, and Native-American race/ethnicity.
- Calculated proportions with 95% confidence intervals and used chi-squared analysis for comparisons.
Main Results:
- URMs constitute 30% of the US population but only 6% of practicing physicians and 9% of Emergency Physicians.
- URMs represent 15% of medical students, 17% of all residents, and 14% of Emergency Medicine residents.
- Significant disparities exist between the general population and practicing physicians in Emergency Medicine (p < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
- Emergency Medicine, similar to other specialties, lacks racial and ethnic diversity compared to the US population.
- Improving diversity in Emergency Medicine residency is constrained by the limited number of URM medical students.
- Strategies to enhance diversity must address the foundational issue of URM representation in medical school.
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