Bottom Line: Workplace experiences of minority resident physicians in training are described in a new study.
Why The Research Is Interesting: Black, Hispanic and Native American physicians are underrepresented in medicine. Exploring the role of race/ethnicity in the professional lives of minority physicians is an essential step toward identifying barriers that hinder workforce diversity and developing interventions that foster diverse work environments.
Who and When: 27 minority resident physicians: 19 (70%) black, three (11%) Hispanic, one (4%) Native American and four (15%) of mixed race/ethnicity. Participants were interviewed at the 2017 Annual Medical Education Conference.
What (Study Measures and Outcomes): Interview responses from black, Hispanic and Native American resident physicians in graduate medical education about their workplace experiences.
How (Study Design): This was a qualitative study and the 27 residents interviewed represented a diverse range of medical specialties and geographic locations.
Authors: Aba Osseo-Asare, M.D., Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, and co-authors
Results: Minority resident physicians described three common scenarios in residency training: they routinely experienced racial/ethnic bias and were reluctant to report it; residency programs lacked institutional systems to promote diversity and relied on minority residents to be race/ethnicity ambassadors; and it was challenging to balance professional and personal identity.
Study Limitations: This was qualitative research so the themes that emerged need to be tested in further research.
Related Material: The invited commentary, "The Plight of the Minority Resident Physician — Similar Challenges in a Different World," by Kendall M. Campbell, M.D., of East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, also is available on the For The Media website.
To Learn More: The full study is available on the For The Media website.
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.2723)
Editor's Note: The article contains funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
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