Race and Gender Differences in Pediatric Milestone Levels: A Multi-Institutional Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Graduate Medical Training
• Competency Assessment

Background:

• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) milestones evaluate resident competency.
• Potential disparities in milestone assessments based on race and gender are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate racial and gender disparities in ACGME milestone assessments within pediatric residency programs.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, cross-sectional, multi-institutional study.
• Analysis of 1446 milestone scores from 316 residents across 3 pediatric residencies.
• Comparison of scores across racial and gender groups.

Main Results:

• African American residents received significantly lower scores in patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Female residents generally scored higher than male residents in patient care and system-based practice.
• Gender differences in medical knowledge scores varied by residency year.

Conclusions:

• Racial and gender disparities exist in pediatric resident milestone assessments.
• These findings highlight the need to address potential biases in competency evaluation.
• Further research is warranted to understand and mitigate these observed differences.