Characterization of applicants for residency training in pathology: Does diversity exist?

CONTEXT

A diverse workforce has been shown to improve productivity and innovation. The level of diversity among pathology residency applicants has not previously been reported.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to characterize the applicants at an academic pathology department to gain a better understanding of diversity among them.

DESIGN

Between 2015 and 2017, data from a tertiary care center were analyzed for gender, US and international medical school, USMLE scores, and self-identified racial or ethnic group. For 2017, data was compared to that published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

RESULTS

There were 1293 pathology applicants with 48-49% being female. The overall underrepresented minority (URM) applicant pool in pathology represented 12.6%, 9.5%, and 11.1% of our applicants for 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. URMs from US medical schools alone represented 4.7%, 3.7%, and 4.5% of our applicants for 2015, 2016, and 2017, respectively. The percentage of 2017 US medical school graduates applying to any US pathology training program was 22.2% versus 38.7% applying to pathology at our center (p ≤0.001). URM applicants for pathology from US medical schools were significantly lower than URM applicants to all AAMC medical specialties (p = 0.035). Among our pathology applicants in 2017, USMLE I scores and number of applicants with any publications were higher for non-URMs compared to URMs (p = 0.048 and p = 0.046, respectively).

CONCLUSION

No significant difference related to gender was identified among our applicants while racial/ethnic groups remain underrepresented with significantly fewer URM applicants from US medical schools compared to published AAMC data for all medical specialties.