By Robert Preidt
HealthDay reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) – White people continue to dominate the top positions in surgery at U.S. universities, while the number of black and Hispanic surgeons remains unchanged, according to a new study.
“There are many talented surgeons of different races, races, and genders who do wonderful jobs and are under-recognized or not recognized at all. And that has added too much frustration,” said study co-author Dr. Jose Trevino, in a Virginia Commonwealth University press release. He is Chair of Surgical Oncology and Associate Professor of Surgery at the university’s medical faculty.
For the study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 15,000 faculties in surgical departments in the United States between 2013 and 2019. During this time, the proportion of chairs for surgical departments and full professorships of white doctors decreased by 4 to 5 percentage points, an increase of 4 percentage points for Asian doctors.
During the study period there was a decrease in black male and Hispanic chairs, which decreased by 0.1 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively.
continuation
Black and Hispanic women were even less likely to hold leadership positions. Only one black woman and one Spanish woman were appointed to chairs during the study period, from zero before 2015.
In 2019, whites made up three quarters of the chairs and full professorships, as the results showed. Black and Hispanic surgeons held approximately 3% to 5% of these positions – a small percentage given the general demographics of the United States.
The study co-author, Dr. Andrea Riner, a surgeon at the University of Florida College of Medicine, said, “I don’t think you won’t go into these positions. And I think a lot of you are really qualified to lead.”
One way to encourage the success of traditionally underrepresented groups is through sponsorship, which is a person in a position of power to someone who is not as influential, the study authors said.
“It’s really powerful when that person speaks for you and says you deserve the position you want to be in,” said Riner. “As a profession, we have to be a little more attentive or conscious when it comes to promoting different people in our departments.”
continuation
The study was published online in JAMA Surgery on May 5.
More information
RAND Corporation is more concerned with the diversity of the US healthcare system.
SOURCE: Virginia Commonwealth University, news release, May 5, 2021
Comments are closed.