Duke University Medical Center Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, United States.
Duke University Medical Center Department of Neurology, DUMC 3824, Durham, NC 27710, United States.
J Natl Med Assoc. 2022 Jan;113(6):654-660. doi: 10.1016/j.jnma.2021.06.004. Epub 2021 Jul 24.
The goal of this study was to identify factors that influence the selection of Neurology as a career choice for Black medical students.
Survey data was collected from attendees at a national educational conference and at a large academic medical school. Two proportion z-tests were used to assess responses among students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds.
199 students participated in the survey. Compared to their Asian and White counterparts, Black students were significantly less likely to choose or consider a career in Neurology. In addition, we found that these students relied more heavily on their pre-clinical experiences to make this determination, citing preference for another specialty, lack of exposure, a preference for a different patient population, and a lack of racial/ethnic diversity as key reasons to not choose a career in Neurology.
Neurological disorders are important contributors to morbidity and mortality. It is imperative that the field attract medical students toward careers in Neurology, particularly those students from traditionally and persistently underrepresented backgrounds. Our findings suggest that Black medical students consider Neurology as a specialty choice less frequently than their counterparts do, and this decision may be made prior to training. We conclude that a multifaceted approach is best to improve the racial/ethnic diversity within the neurological workforce, which should include targeted interventions prior to and after matriculation to medical school.
本研究旨在确定影响黑人群体选择神经病学作为职业的因素。
从全国教育会议和一所大型学术医学院的与会者那里收集了调查数据。使用两个比例 z 检验来评估不同种族/族裔背景的学生的反应。
199 名学生参加了调查。与亚洲和白人学生相比，黑人学生选择或考虑神经病学职业的可能性明显较低。此外，我们发现这些学生更依赖于他们的临床前经验来做出这一决定，他们列举了对另一个专业的偏好、缺乏接触、对不同患者群体的偏好以及缺乏种族/族裔多样性作为不选择神经病学职业的主要原因。
神经疾病是发病率和死亡率的重要因素。该领域必须吸引医学生从事神经病学职业，特别是那些来自传统和持续代表性不足背景的学生。我们的研究结果表明，黑人医学生选择神经病学作为专业选择的频率低于他们的同龄人，而且这个决定可能是在培训之前做出的。我们的结论是，需要采取多方面的方法来改善神经科劳动力中的种族/族裔多样性，这应包括在入学前和入学后的针对性干预措施。
