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Interventions associated with racial and ethnic diversity in US graduate medical education: a scoping review

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Mabeza, Russyan Mark, Christophers, Briana, Ederaine, Sophia A., Glenn, Emily J., Benton-Slocum, Zachary P., Marcelin, Jasmine R.·2023·JAMA Network Open
DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.49335PMC PMC9856938
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Abstract

Importance: Racially and ethnically minoritized individuals remain underrepresented in graduate medical education relative to their proportion in the population. While many programs and initiatives have been developed to address this problem, there is little consensus regarding strategies that work to improve representation across specialties. Objective: To examine and synthesize evidence-based practices that have been used to increase the proportions of underrepresented in medicine (URiM) trainees at US residency and fellowship programs. Evidence Review: The authors searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, PsycInfo, ERIC, Cochrane Reviews, Cochrane Trials, CINAHL, Scopus, and PROSPERO electronic databases to identify relevant studies published through January 2022. They screened all titles and abstracts for relevance and read full-text articles to identify articles reporting reliable data describing the outcomes of interventions to improve racial and ethnic diversity among trainees. Findings: Twenty-seven articles were included in this review. Two studies reported on fellowship programs. The most common interventions included holistic review (48%), decreased emphasis on United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 scores (48%), and explicit institutional messaging regarding the importance of diversity (37%). A combination of interventions was associated with an increased number of URiM applicants, interviewees, and matriculants across various medical and surgical specialties. Conclusions and Relevance: In this scoping review, approaches and interventions associated with increased diversity in residency and fellowship programs were identified. Continued efforts are necessary to sustain such efforts and assess long-term outcomes.

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  • Several systematic and scoping reviews have synthesized efforts at later stages of medical training, such as interventions to increase the diversity of residency programs or to mentor students already enrolled in graduate medical education.

    “Several systematic and scoping reviews have synthesized efforts at later stages of medical training, such as interventions to increase the diversity of residency programs or to mentor students already enrolled in graduate medical education [3,31].”

    From Efficacy of Early Exposure Medical Programs for Underrepresented Students: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [31]

    The Introduction and Conclusions identify this paper as a scoping review of interventions to increase racial and ethnic diversity in US graduate medical education programs. Its Recruitment section describes mentorship for medical students before residency, not mentorship for students already enrolled in graduate medical education. The latter part of the citing sentence is therefore not supported by this source. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Mabeza, R. M., Christophers, B., Ederaine, S. A., Glenn, E. J., Benton-Slocum, Z. P., & Marcelin, J. R.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, New York, New York
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center (US)
Corresponding author
  • Mabeza, Russyan Mark
  • Marcelin, Jasmine R.
ORCID
Venue
JAMA Network Open
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2023-01-03
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
e2249335
ISSN
2574-3805 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.49335
PMC
PMC9856938
OpenAlex
W4313532659
Cited by
40
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11
FWCI
3.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • JAMA Network Open (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Cancer Institute (P30CA008748)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM007739)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Diversity and Career in Medicine
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Medical Education and Admissions
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Career Development and Diversity
Keywords
racial and ethnic diversity, underrepresented in medicine, graduate medical education, residency training, fellowships, diversity interventions, holistic review, USMLE Step 1 scores, medical workforce diversity, medical specialties
MeSH terms
Education, Medical, Graduate, Humans, Internship and Residency, United States

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