Fostering Diversity in Urology: Addressing Ethnic Disparities in Applicant and Resident Recruitment.

INTRODUCTION: In this retrospective database review, the objective was to investigate the ethnic composition of urology applicants and residents in recent years and assess whether any advancements have been made in enhancing the recruitment of candidates from historically underrepresented groups in medicine. METHODS: A retrospective database review was conducted on self-reported data on the ethnicity of urology applicants from academic year 2016 to 2017 (AY2016) to AY2021 and urology residents from AY2011 to AY2021. Applicant data were collected from the Association of American Medical Colleges, and resident data were collected from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The ethnic proportions of applicants and residents within cohorts were analyzed using χ2 tests, and differences between cohorts were analyzed using Z tests. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of White applicants from 61.4% to 50.5% from AY2016 to AY2021 and a statistically significant increase in the proportion of applicants of multiple race/ethnicity from 4.7% to 12.0% from AY2016 to AY2021. There were disproportionately more Hispanic/Latino residents than applicants and disproportionately fewer residents of multiple race/ethnicity than applicants in the 2 cycles analyzed. There were disproportionately fewer Black residents than applicants only in the comparison of AY2016 to AY2020 applicants to AY2020 residents. CONCLUSIONS: There continues to be a lack of ethnic representation among applicants and residents in urology from underrepresented groups in medicine, despite some measurable improvement over the years. This deficit highlights the important need for new and ongoing efforts to diversify the field.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Otolaryngology Applicants and Residents: Recruiting a Diverse Workforce.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to examine the racial and ethnic representation of otolaryngology applicants and residents and determine if there have been any improvements in recruiting a diverse workforce over the past several years. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on self-reported race and ethnicity data of otolaryngology applicants to United States residency programs from 2016 to 2022 from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and residents from 2011 to 2022 from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The changes in proportions of applicants and residents by race and ethnicity separately was compared as well as the proportion of applicants to residents. Descriptive analyses and chi-square tests were used to compare proportions of groups by race and ethnicity. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of applicants by race or ethnicity from 2016-2017 to 2021-2022. There was a decrease in the proportion of White residents from 58.1% to 54.5% from 2011-2012 to 2018-2019. There were higher proportions of White residents than applicants and lower proportions of Black residents than applicants in the two cycles analyzed. In the most recent cycle analyzed, the proportion of Hispanic or Latino residents was higher than the proportion of Hispanic or Latino applicants. CONCLUSION: While there may be improvements to increase representation of otolaryngology applicants and residents, there continues to be inequalities and a lack of diversity. Further initiatives are needed to ensure diversity in the field improves moving forward.