Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island.
Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island;
J Nucl Med. 2021 Sep 1;62(9):1207-1213. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.120.260711. Epub 2021 Apr 23.
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. 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. 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. 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.
多元化的医疗保健队伍是向日益多样化的美国人口提供公平医疗服务的必要组成部分。在核医学 (NM) 领域，关于美国医学领域代表性不足的女性和少数族裔群体（URiMs）数量的数据很少。这项研究旨在描述学术 NM 中女性和 URiMs 的现状，描述经认可的研究生医学教育委员会 (ACGME) 认证的 NM 居住计划教职员工和学员的人口统计学特征，并评估在医学院期间 NM 暴露的程度。该研究已由机构审查委员会审查，并被视为豁免。在这项横断面研究中，向美国 41 个经认可的 NM 居住计划主任 (PD) 发送了一个链接到在线 15 项调查的电子邮件。使用一个安全的网络应用程序在 2018 年 9 月至 12 月期间收集数据，该应用程序是研究的电子数据捕获工具。41 名 PD 中的 23 名（56.1%）对调查做出了回应，其中 23 名中的 18 名（78.3%）是男性，5 名（21.7%）是女性。23 名 PD 中的 3 名（13.0%）报告为 URiMs。在 23 个 NM 居住计划中，其 PD 做出回应的 60 名居民中，37 名（61.7%）为男性（7/37 [18.9%] URiMs），23 名（38.3%）为女性（5/23 [21.7%] URiMs）。60 名居民中有 14 名（23.3%）是美国医学院毕业生（美国毕业生）。PD 描述了 121 名现任 NM 教师的人口统计学特征：121 名中的 86 名（71.1%）为男性（8/121 [6.6% URIMs]和 35 名（28.9%）为女性（7/121 [5.8% URiMs]。121 名中的 65 名（53.7%）是美国毕业生。23 名分区主管中的 16 名（69.6%）是男性，7 名（30.4%）是女性。23 名分区主管中的 4 名（17.4%）是 URiMs，20 名 NM PD 中的 7 名报告 NM 是医学院课程的一部分。在 NM 培训计划中，女性和 URiMs 的代表性不足。这种多样性差距在 NM 教师中更为明显，在领导层中更为明显。与 NM 教师相比，NM 学员中有更多的国际医学毕业生，这表明美国毕业生 NM 的招聘人数正在下降。NM 课程在拥有 NM 居住计划的学术中心中不到三分之一，通常在医学院的后期阶段。增加和更早地接触 NM，尤其是对女性和 URiMs 来说，可能会改善招聘并缓解多样性差距。
