Exploring Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Representation in Key Academic Anesthesiology Leadership Roles in the USA

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Leadership
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Healthcare workforce demographics in the USA are evolving, necessitating greater representation of the general population.
• Despite progress, Black and Hispanic trainees remain underrepresented in anesthesiology, potentially perpetuating leadership disparities.
• Key leadership roles, such as anesthesiology chairs and program directors, significantly influence specialty demographics but were previously overlooked.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the racial, ethnic, and gender distribution of anesthesiology chairs and program directors.
• To identify potential root causes of minority underrepresentation in anesthesiology leadership positions.
• To inform targeted actions for equitable representation in influential gatekeeper roles.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of anesthesiology residency and fellowship programs.
• Extracted demographic data (gender, race, ethnicity) from the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access (FREIDA) website and other online sources.
• Utilized three independent reviewers for data extraction and conflict resolution.

Main Results:

• Analyzed 603 anesthesiology faculty leaders (145 chairs, 169 residency PDs, 289 fellowship PDs).
• Overall, only 34% of leaders were women, and 85.5% of chairpersons were White.
• Significant racial, ethnic, and gender underrepresentation was observed across leadership roles, with an exception in pediatric anesthesiology fellowship directors.

Conclusions:

• Identified considerable racial, ethnic, and gender inequities in key academic anesthesiology leadership roles.
• Urgent need for targeted interventions to ensure equitable representation in selection-influencing positions.
• Promoting diversity in leadership is essential for a representative healthcare workforce, improved patient care, and innovation.