Diversifying academic medicine: One search committee at a time

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Equity
• Human Resources in Medicine

Background:

• Underrepresentation of minority groups persists in medical faculty positions.
• Existing faculty search processes often fail to promote diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a mandatory faculty search workshop on diversity in medical education hiring.
• To assess the effectiveness of implicit bias training and best practices in faculty recruitment.

Main Methods:

• A 2-hour workshop on search best practices and implicit bias training was implemented.
• 179 search committee members across 55 committees participated from 2017-2020.
• Diversity data (applicants, interviewees, hires) were compared pre- and post-workshop using Chi-square analyses.

Main Results:

• Workshop participants reported high satisfaction with the training (mean scores 3.82-4.39/5).
• High implementation rates of diversity best practices (94% mandatory, 87% best practices).
• Significant increases observed in applicant, interviewee, and hire diversity (p < 0.001-0.002), with greater gains in gender diversity.

Conclusions:

• Mandatory diversity training and structured search processes effectively enhance faculty diversity in medical schools.
• The workshop improved representation across all stages of the hiring pipeline.
• Targeted interventions are crucial for addressing persistent underrepresentation in academic medicine.