Women and ethnic groups underrepresented in physical medicine and rehabilitation medical education
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Current gender and ethnic diversity trends show women and ethnic minorities are significantly underrepresented in the physical medicine and rehabilitation medical education, according to demographic research.
Researchers obtained self-reported gender records of members from the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the American Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which comprised physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) applicants and current residents.
“Over the last 5 years, women comprised only 34.76% of PM&R applicants which was the fourth lowest percentage of the 11 specialties analyzed. On average, the total number of female PM&R applicants decreased by 4.35 annually compared to the 0.43 annual increase in male applicants (P< .001): This discrepancy in gender was five-times greater than the aggregate of the specialties examined when controlling for total residents,” according to the study abstract.
For the percentage of minorities in the specialty, 7.72% of applicants and 5.31% of current residents identified as Hispanic. Similarly, 8.28% of applicants and 5.28% of current residents identified as African American, according to the abstract.
The authors recommended women and minority groups should be a focus for recruiters in the specialty as, “studies have shown that race-concordant physician-patient relationships translate to improved patient outcomes and increased satisfaction with care.”
Collapse
Dixon G, et al. Current trends in gender and ethnic diversity amongst prospective and current physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians. Presented at: International Society of Physical & Rehabilitation Medicine World Congress and Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting; March 4-9, 2020; Orlando.
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts