Recruiting a Diverse Cardiology Physician Workforce

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Medical Education
• Workforce Diversity

Background:

• Improving diversity in the cardiology workforce is crucial.
• Understanding trends in representation of women and underrepresented minorities in cardiology fellowships is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine changes in the representation of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic populations in cardiovascular disease and subspecialty fellowships over time.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study using Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education data (2008-2022).
• Analyzed trainee sex and race/ethnicity in cardiovascular disease and subspecialty fellowships.
• Used Mann-Kendall tests to assess trends in representation.

Main Results:

• Women's representation in cardiovascular disease fellowships increased from 17.6% in 2008 to 25.5% in 2022.
• Interventional cardiology fellowships saw an increase in women trainees from 6.3% to 20.1% (2008-2022).
• Representation of Black and Hispanic trainees in cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology showed positive, though not always statistically significant, upward trends.

Conclusions:

• Representation of women in cardiovascular fellowships, including interventional cardiology, has significantly increased.
• While the representation of Black and Hispanic individuals in cardiology fellowships remains low, recent positive trends are encouraging.
• These findings highlight progress and underscore the need for continued efforts to enhance workforce diversity in cardiology.