Letter to the Editor

On “Retaining Faculty from Underrepresented Groups in Academic Medicine: Results from a Needs Assessment”

Authors: Kehinde Eniola, MD, MPH

Abstract

To the Editor: I found the research article “Retaining Faculty from Underrepresented Groups in Academic Medicine: Results from a Needs Assessment” by Childs et al, which emphasized a prominent issue faced by those underrepresented in medicine (URiM)—the retention of minority faculty in academic institutions—to be a valuable and informative read.1 Although URiM plays a fundamental role in addressing health disparities, increasing diversity in health care, and improving the quality of care and health professions education in academic medicine as alluded to by these authors, workforce diversity in the medical workforce remains disproportionately low.2 According to the 2018 Association of American Medical Colleges report, US medical school full-time faculty were 63.9% White, 19.2% Asian, 5.5% Black or African American, and 3.6% Hispanic/Latinx/Spanish.3

This content is limited to qualifying members.

Existing members, please login first

If you have an existing account please login now to access this article or view purchase options.

Purchase only this article ($25)

Create a free account, then purchase this article to download or access it online for 24 hours.

Purchase an SMJ online subscription ($75)

Create a free account, then purchase a subscription to get complete access to all articles for a full year.

Purchase a membership plan (fees vary)

Premium members can access all articles plus recieve many more benefits. View all membership plans and benefit packages.

References

1. Childs E, Yoloye K, Bhasin RM, et al. Retaining faculty from underrepresented groups in academic medicine: results from a needs assessment. South Med J 2023;116:157–161.
 
2. Hassouneh D, Lutz KF, Beckett AK, et al. The experiences of underrepresented minority faculty in schools of medicine. Med Educ Online 2014; 19:24768.
 
3. Association of American Medical Colleges. Diversity in medicine: facts and figures 2019. Figure 15. Percentage of full-time U.S. medical school faculty by race/ethnicity, 2018. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/data/figure-15-percentage-full-time-us-medical-school-faculty-race/ethnicity-2018. Accessed May 19, 2023.
 
4. Ajayi AA, Rodriguez F, de Jesus Perez V. Prioritizing equity and diversity in academic medicine faculty recruitment and retention. JAMA Health Forum 2021;2:e212426.
 
5. Bonifacino E, Ufomata EO, Farkas AH, et al. Mentorship of underrepresented physicians and trainees in academic medicine: a systematic review. J Gen Intern Med 2021;36:1023–1034.