Diversifying Skin Tone Representation in Medical School Dermatology Curriculum

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Dermatology
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Lack of diversity in medical education leads to disparities in dermatologic health outcomes.
• Patients of color are disproportionately affected by these disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate second-year medical students' diagnostic comfort with skin of color (SOC).
• Explore strategies to improve student confidence in diagnosing SOC conditions.
• Investigate the impact of curriculum enrichment with SOC representation on diagnostic skills.

Main Methods:

• Comparative survey analysis of medical students from Fall 2020 and Fall 2022.
• Assessed student comfort levels in diagnosing dermatologic conditions across different skin tones.
• Evaluated the effect of increased exposure to diverse dermatologic imagery.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant increase in student comfort diagnosing SOC was observed between 2020 and 2022.
• Students exposed to a curriculum with more diverse dermatologic photos reported higher diagnostic confidence.
• Curriculum changes positively impacted students' ability to recognize conditions in skin of color.

Conclusions:

• Integrating diverse dermatologic content into medical curricula is essential.
• Enhanced representation of skin of color improves diagnostic skills and confidence.
• Addressing these educational gaps is vital for mitigating healthcare disparities in dermatology.