Mattes Malcolm D, Deville Curtiland, Vega Raymond B Mailhot, Fung Claire Y, Suneja Gita, Shumway John W, Chowdhary Mudit, Shah Chirag, Bates James E, Mohindra Pranshu, Siker Malika L, Winkfield Karen M, Vapiwala Neha, Royce Trevor J
Department of Radiation Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.
Adv Radiat Oncol. 2021 Nov 3;7(2):100834. doi: 10.1016/j.adro.2021.100834. eCollection 2022 Mar-Apr.
The radiation oncology workforce in the United States is comparatively less diverse than the U.S. population and U.S. medical school graduates. Workforce diversity correlates with higher quality care and outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether student members of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) are any more diverse than resident members-in-training using the recently established medical student membership category.
Self-reported sex, race and Hispanic ethnicity, medical school, and degree(s) earned for all medical students (n = 268) and members-in-training (n = 713) were collected from the ASTRO membership database. International members were excluded. The χ test was used to assess for differences between subgroups.
Compared with members-in-training, student members were more likely to be female (40.0% vs 31.5%, = .032), black or African American (10.7% vs 4.8%, = .009), candidates for or holders of a DO rather than MD degree (5.2% vs 1.5%, = .002), and from a U.S. medical school that is not affiliated with a radiation oncology residency program (30.5% vs 20.9%, = .001). There was no significant difference in self-reported Hispanic ethnicity (7.3% vs 5.4%, = .356). There were no indigenous members in either category assessed.
Medical student members of ASTRO are more diverse in terms of black race, female sex, and osteopathic training, though not in terms of Hispanic ethnicity or nonmultiracial indigenous background, than the members-in-training. Longitudinal engagement with these students and assessment of the factors leading to specialty retention versus attrition may increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in radiation oncology.
美国放射肿瘤学领域的劳动力多样性相较于美国人口和美国医学院毕业生而言相对较低。劳动力多样性与更高质量的医疗服务和治疗结果相关。本研究的目的是利用最近设立的医学生会员类别，确定美国放射肿瘤学会（ASTRO）的学生会员是否比住院医师培训学员更加多样化。
从ASTRO会员数据库中收集了所有医学生（n = 268）和培训学员（n = 713）自我报告的性别、种族和西班牙裔 ethnicity、医学院校以及所获得的学位。排除国际会员。采用χ检验评估亚组之间的差异。
与培训学员相比，学生会员更有可能为女性（40.0% 对 31.5%，P = 0.032）、黑人或非裔美国人（10.7% 对 4.8%，P = 0.009）、拥有医学博士（DO）学位而非医学博士（MD）学位的候选人或持有者（5.2% 对 1.5%，P = 0.002），并且来自未附属于放射肿瘤学住院医师培训项目的美国医学院校（30.5% 对 20.9%，P = 0.001）。自我报告的西班牙裔 ethnicity 方面无显著差异（7.3% 对 5.4%，P = 0.356）。在评估的任何一个类别中均无本土会员。
与培训学员相比，ASTRO的医学生会员在黑人种族、女性性别和整骨疗法培训方面更加多样化，尽管在西班牙裔 ethnicity 或非多种族本土背景方面并非如此。与这些学生进行纵向接触并评估导致专业保留与流失的因素，可能会增加放射肿瘤学领域的多样性、公平性和包容性。
