Minority Faculty Development Programs and Underrepresented Minority Faculty Representation at US Medical Schools
James P Guevara1, Emem Adanga, Elorm Avakame
1PolicyLab: Center to Bridge Research, Practice, & Policy, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania2Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia3Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
JAMA
|December 5, 2013
Summary
Diversity initiatives in US medical schools saw a modest increase in underrepresented minority faculty from 2000-2010. Faculty development programs did not significantly impact representation, recruitment, or promotion, though intensive programs showed positive associations.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Faculty Diversity
- Health Equity
Background:
- US medical schools have increasingly implemented diversity initiatives to address the underrepresentation of minority faculty.
- Underrepresented minority faculty remain a critical focus for improving diversity in academic medicine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the association between minority faculty development programs and the representation, recruitment, and promotion of underrepresented minority faculty in US medical schools.
- To determine if targeted faculty development programs influence the diversity of medical school faculty.
Main Methods:
- A secondary analysis was conducted using the Association of American Medical Colleges Faculty Roster database (2000-2010).
- Data included full-time faculty from US medical schools, assessing the presence of school-wide minority faculty development programs in 2010.
- Statistical analyses examined the percentage of underrepresented minority faculty, newly appointed faculty, and newly promoted faculty, adjusting for faculty and school characteristics.
Main Results:
- The overall percentage of underrepresented minority faculty in US medical schools increased from 6.8% in 2000 to 8.0% in 2010.
- Schools with minority faculty development programs showed similar increases in underrepresented minority faculty representation compared to schools without such programs.
- No significant association was found between the presence of minority faculty development programs and increased representation, recruitment, or promotion of underrepresented minority faculty.
Conclusions:
- While underrepresented minority faculty numbers increased modestly, existing faculty development programs were not significantly linked to improvements in representation, recruitment, or promotion.
- However, more intensive faculty development programs (longer duration, more components) were associated with greater increases in underrepresented minority faculty representation.
- These findings suggest that program intensity may play a role in the effectiveness of diversity initiatives for faculty in medical schools.
