355 Responding to a call of action: An analysis of ethnic diversity within dermatology residency programs

Abstract

Recent efforts have been made to increase diversity in healthcare within the United States (US). Among physician specialties, dermatology was identified as one of the least ethnically diverse among residents and practicing dermatologists. Numerous calls of actions to increase diversity among dermatologists have been published in the literature. To evaluate recent trends and the current state of ethnic diversity within dermatology, this study provides a ten-year analysis of ethnicity data from dermatology residents, compared to total graduate medical education (GME) residents. For the academic years of 2011-2021, the total number of GME and dermatology residents were recorded, as well as the residents’ self-reported ethnicity data. Data was obtained through analysis of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Data Resource Book. Ethnic groups were defined as White, Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Black, and Native American or Alaskan. Our results showed that from 2011-2021, 56.38% of dermatology residents were white, compared to 44.17% of GME residents overall. The representation of all other individual ethnicities was lower among dermatology residents when compared to GME residents. The gap between minority ethnicities in dermatology and other medical specialties continues to persist, with little improvement over the last ten years. Our study shows only a 1.4% improvement of the gap between ethnic minority dermatology residents and ethnic minority GME residents. Diversity among physicians has been shown to improve health outcomes, particularly for ethnic minority patients. Future studies and efforts should be directed towards increasing ethnic minority representation within the dermatology physician workforce.