Diversity in interventional radiology: Survey of medical student interest with focus on women and members of underrepresented in medicine racial and ethnic groups.

PURPOSE: To assess: 1) the percentage of female and underrepresented in medicine (URiM) medical students interested in interventional radiology (IR), and 2) the motivations for and deterrents from IR for female and URiM students. METHODS: The study was IRB exempt. Data from a 19-item survey sent to 5 US medical schools were collected from 10/2018-01/2019 using REDCap and analyzed with SAS GLIMMIX. RESULTS: 16% (56/346) of women and 27% (69/258) of men strongly considered IR. 21% (19/89) of URiM versus 21% (105/508) of non-URiM students, p = .88, seriously considered IR. On a 0-to-4 scale (0 = not a motivator, 4 = strong motivator), women rated "Female mentorship" "2.5" versus males' "0.4", p < .0001, independent of IR interest URiM students uninterested in IR rated "Lack of ethnic diversity in training""2.3" versus "1.2" for IR-interested URiM, p < .01. 18% (9/50) of IR-interested women reported adequate gender-specific mentorship in IR in medical school. Of IR-interested URiM students 5% (1/19) reported adequate ethnicity/race-specific mentorship. CONCLUSION: Fewer female medical students considered IR compared to males. Female mentorship was a significant motivator for women. Similar numbers of URiM and non-URiM students consider IR. Few women and URiM students report adequate gender/ethnicity/race-specific mentorship. For students not interested in IR, lack of ethnic diversity in training was a significant deterrent. Increasing numbers and visibility of female and URiM interventional radiologists in mentoring and clinical practice may improve recruitment of medical students from these underrepresented groups.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Academic Nuclear Medicine: National Survey of Nuclear Medicine Residency Program Directors.

A diverse health-care workforce is a necessary component of equitable care delivery to an increasingly diverse U.S. population. In nuclear medicine (NM), there is a paucity of data on the numbers of women and members of racial and ethnic groups that are underrepresented in medicine in the United States (URiMs). This study sought to characterize the current state of women and URiMs in academic NM, describe the demographics of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited NM residency program faculty and trainees, and assess the extent of NM exposure during medical school. Methods: This study was reviewed by the Institutional Review Board and deemed exempt. In this cross-sectional study, a link to an online 15-item survey was emailed to 41 ACGME-accredited NM residency program directors (PDs) in the United States. Data were collected between September 2018 and December 2018 using a secure web application that serves as an electronic data capture tool for research studies. Results: 23 of 41 (56.1%) PDs responded to the survey, 18 of 23 (78.3%) of whom were men and 5 of 23 (21.7%) women. Three of 23 (13.0%) PDs reported being URiMs. Of the 60 residents in the 23 NM residency programs whose PDs responded, 37 of 60 (61.7%) were men (7/37 [18.9%] URiMs) and 23 of 60 (38.3%) women (5/23 [21.7%] URiMs). Fourteen of 60 (23.3%) residents were U.S. medical school graduates (U.S. grads). PDs described demographics of 121 current NM faculty members: 86 of 121 (71.1%) were men (8/121 [6.6% URIMs] and 35 of 121 (28.9%) women (7/121 (5.8% URiMs). Sixty-five of 121 (53.7%) were U.S. grads. Sixteen of 23 (69.6%) divisional chiefs were men, and 7 of 23 (30.4%) were women. Four of 23 (17.4%) divisional chiefs were URiMs, and 7 of 20 (35.0%) NM PDs reported that NM was part of the medical school curriculum. Conclusion: Women and URiMs are underrepresented in NM training programs. This diversity gap is more pronounced among NM faculty and to an even greater extent in leadership positions. A greater proportion of NM trainees are international medical graduates compared with NM faculty members, suggesting declining NM recruitment among U.S. grads. NM is included in the medical school curriculum at fewer than one third of academic centers with NM residency programs, typically toward the end of medical school. Increased and earlier exposure to NM, especially for women and URiMs, may improve recruitment and mitigate diversity gaps.