Responding to Recommended Changes to the 2020-2021 Residency Recruitment Process From a Diversity, Equity, and...

In May 2020, the Coalition for Physician Accountability's Work Group on Medical Students in the Class of 2021 Moving Across Institutions for Post Graduate Training (WG) released its final report and recommendations. These recommendations pertain to away rotations, virtual interviews, Electronic Residency Application Service opening for programs and the overall residency timeline, and general communications and attempt to provide clarity and level the playing field during the 2020-2021 residency application cycle. The WG's aims include promoting professional accountability by improving the quality, efficiency, and continuity of the education, training, and assessment of physicians. The authors argue the first 3 WG recommendations may disproportionately impact candidates from historically excluded and underrepresented groups in medicine (HEURGMs) and may affect an institution's ability to ensure equity in the selection of residency applicants and, thus, warrant further consideration. The authors examine these recommendations from a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) perspective. For each of the first 3 WG recommendations, the authors highlight new opportunities created by the recommendations and detail challenges that programs must carefully navigate to ensure equity for all candidates. The authors also recommend solutions to guide programs as they address these challenges, meet new common program requirements, and attempt to promote equity for HEURGMs. Finally, the authors recommend that after the 2020-2021 recruitment cycle, the medical education community evaluate DEI-related outcomes of both the WG's and the authors' recommendations and incorporate the findings into future application cycles.