Contemporary diversity trends among matched ophthalmology residents in the USA

Ophthalmology remains one of the least diverse medical specialties, despite ongoing efforts to promote inclusion. To address the gap in recent literature and understand the demographic trajectory of this specialty, this study analyses current demographic trends among ophthalmology residents in the USA.

US ophthalmology residents enrolled with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education between 2008 and 2022 were included. Racial trends were analysed over the period of 2012-2022, and sex trends were analysed across 2008-2022, according to data availability.

Over the study period, the percentage of female ophthalmology residents remained stable from 41% in 2008 to 41.8% in 2022 (compared with 54.6% of US medical students). The least represented racial group from 2012 to 2022 was American Indian/Alaskan Native (ranging 0%-0.35%) followed by black/African American (ranging 1.42%-3.01%) and Hispanic/Latin/Spanish origin (ranging 2.05%-7.50%). The year with the greatest proportion of under-represented in medicine (URiM) ophthalmology residents was 2021-2022, with 10.5% URiM residents (0% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 3.01% black/African American, 7.50% Hispanic/Latin/Spanish). The summed proportions of URiM ophthalmology residents were significantly less before 202 (5.4%) compared with after (10%) (p<0.001).

Overall, female and URiM residents are under-represented in ophthalmology. The proportion of female residents remained constant between 2008 and 2022, highlighting a need for additional recruitment efforts. The proportion of URiM residents increased over the same period, highlighting a time period of interest for future research on recruitment strategies.