Representation of Hispanic and Latino Orthopaedic Surgery Trainees and Attendings in the United States: A...

In 2021, the US Hispanic and Latino (H&L) population made up 19% of the national population, an increase from 14% in 2006. There is limited literature assessing the trends of H&L representation among residents, fellows, and attending physicians in orthopaedic surgery. We sought to analyze their current representation in light of recent changes in national demographics.

Demographic data for the US population was obtained from the decennial Censuses. Race and ethnicity data for in-training residents from 2006 to 2021 were extracted from the Graduate Medical Education Census from the American Medical Association. Similar data were obtained from the 2008 and 2018 AAOS (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons) Censuses of fully trained orthopaedic surgeons. Representation was analyzed for the following groups: H&L, Black, Asian, Native American, Multiracial, and White. H&L fellows representation per subspecialty (adult reconstruction, foot and ankle, hand, oncology, sports medicine, spine, trauma, and pediatrics) was also analyzed.

A total of 57,187 orthopaedic surgery residents were in training over the 15-year study period (2006-2021), 2,812 (4.9%) identified as H&L. Total number of orthopaedic residents in-training grew by 36% from 2006 to 2021 (3,305 to 4,616). H&L residents doubled from 118 to 281 to comprise 6.1% of trainees. Representation for H&L trained orthopaedic surgeons grew from 484 (1.9%) in 2008 to 663 (2.2%) in 2018, a 37% increase in absolute number and 16% as percentage of the orthopaedic workforce.

Across the 15-year study period, H&L representation in orthopaedic surgery moderately increased at all levels but remained low relative to the H&L population. H&L resident representation relative to H&L national demographic weight is significantly low (p < 0.001) compared with other ethnic/racial groups. H&L residents were represented at a rate 3 times lower than White residents and almost 7 times lower than Asian residents when compared with the H&L national population.