VIDEO: Outreach to underrepresented students key to cultivating diversity in GI
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In the latest installment of Healio’s video series with ASGE, Kenneth Obi, MD, FASGE, FACG, discusses how outreach to underrepresented students, even as early as high school, could help combat the “paucity of diversity” in gastroenterology.
According to Obi, although historically underrepresented groups make up about 40% of the U.S. population, only about 15% of students in medical school and about 10% of practicing gastroenterologists are from underrepresented groups.
“The question then goes to, why is diversity important?” Obi, a gastroenterologist at Rome Gastroenterology and Associates and ASGE pathways subcommittee chair, said. “Studies that have looked at health disparities, health outcomes, access to medical care and even patient trust and satisfaction have all indicated that diversity improves all of those areas.”
Obi explained that STEM pipeline programs, such as Get to Know Gastro and the Experience GI series, are “training-level interventions” designed to promote diversity in the workforce by focusing on underrepresented students in high school and undergraduate school, while formal mentorship programs benefit students in medical school and beyond.
“There’s a paucity of diversity among practicing gastroenterologists,” he said. “The good news is that national GI societies are aware of this and are taking steps and investing in formal programs and interventions to help address this issue.”
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