Abstract
Despite growing recognition of the need for increased diversity among students, trainees, and faculty in health care, the medical workforce still lacks adequate representation from groups historically underrepresented in medicine (URiM). The subspecialty field of pediatric pulmonology is no exception. Although there have been efforts to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in our own field, gaps persist. To address these gaps, the members of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Group (DEI-AG) of the American Thoracic Society Pediatrics Assembly created and distributed a Needs Assessment Survey in the United States and Canada to better understand the racial and ethnic demographics of the pediatric pulmonary workforce and to learn more about successes, gaps, and opportunities to enhance how we recruit, train, and retain a diverse workforce. The DEI-AG leadership cochairs convened a workshop to review the findings of the DEI Needs Assessment Survey and to develop strategies to improve the recruitment and retention of URiM fellows and faculty. This Official ATS Workshop Report aims to identify barriers and opportunities for recruitment, training, and career development within the field of pediatric pulmonology. Additionally, we offer useful strategies and resources to improve the recruitment of URiM residents, the mentorship of trainees and junior faculty, and the career development of URiM faculty in academic centers. This Workshop Report is an important first deliverable by the DEI-AG. We hope that this work, originating from within the Pediatrics Assembly, will serve as a model for other Assemblies, disciplines across the ATS, and other fields in Pediatrics.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1373-1388 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Annals of the American Thoracic Society |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2023 |
Funding
Supported by the American Thoracic Society Pediatrics Assembly Project program. T.A.L. received research support from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and NIH. T.M.K. served as consultant and received travel support from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; holds intellectual property on patent on MyVoiceCF for University of Pittsburgh; received honoraria from Johns Hopkins University; received research support from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and NIH. D.S.W. served as consultant for Cartesian Therapeutics and DevPro; holds intellectual property IW001 with ImmuneWorks. L.M.C. employed by Castner Incorporated. N.P.L. received research support from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, HRSA MCH, National Science Foundation. R.T.C. served on data safety and monitoring board for Sanofi. N.S., E.F., S.L.-D., P.E.M., B.J.S., M.N.U., M.L.L., L.R.W.H., D.A., F.A., V.B., G.Y.B.A., P.G., A.H., K.J., T.M.M.-F., P.E.M., I.N., J.B.P., Y.M.R.S., I.E.T., D.T., C.A.T.-S. reported no commercial or relevant non-commercial interests from ineligible companies. To ensure diversity in the workforce, pediatric pulmonologists will have to recruit and engage diverse learners early, invest in efforts to renew interest in pediatrics, and highlight opportunities within our subspecialty’s workforce. “Enriching the pathway” includes programs or strategies focused on mentoring, leadership, and community engagement of underrepresented trainees to increase their representation in the workforce. The success of pathway programs has been demonstrated in other medical specialties such as family medicine and emergency medicine (19). Pathway programs can be implemented as early as elementary school with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)–focused groups and can continue through medical school and residency with subspecialty interest groups and electives (19–23). Critical elements of successful pathway programs include promoting interest in a specific field, providing mentorship, opportunities for skills development or research, and improving matriculation to undergraduate or medical school programs (22, 24–26). Additionally, many successful programs seek to reduce the financial burden of education through grants and scholarships (20, 21, 27). Professional organizations can play an integral role in facilitating the integration of URiM students within the workforce by providing a sense of professional identity, enhancing mentoring and networking opportunities, and providing support for travel to conferences (28, 29). Here, we outline several recommendations for recruiting a diverse workforce using approaches that have proven to be successful (Table 5). These strategies are categorized by training stages. Supported by the American Thoracic Society Pediatrics Assembly Project program.
Keywords
- diversity
- equity
- inclusion
- recruitment
- training
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
