06 Dec Medical School Minority Faculty Not Markedly Increased by Development Programs
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
James Guevara, MD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics & Epidemiology
Senior Diversity Search Advisor, Perelman School of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania,Director of Interdisciplinary Initiatives
PolicyLab: Center to Bridge Research, Practice, & Policy
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,Philadelphia, PA 19104
MedicalResearch.com: What did the study attempt to address?
Dr. Guevara: Medical schools have sought to build more diverse faculty in their institutions through faculty development programs targeted to underrepresented minority faculty members. This study was conduct by THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA’S POLICYLAB and The University of Pennsylvania and sought to determine if there was an association between minority faculty development programs and the representation, recruitment, and promotion of underrepresented minority faculty.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings from the study?
Dr. Guevara: The study was a secondary analysis of faculty-level data from the Association of American Medical Colleges linked to a national survey of medical schools. Findings indicated that there was only a modest increase from 6.8% to 8.0% in faculty from underrepresented minority backgrounds from 2000 to 2010. Schools with faculty development programs targeted to minority faculty members did not see an increase that was different from schools without such programs. However, schools with more intensive minority faculty development programs outperformed schools with less intensive programs.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the implications of these findings for medical school administrators?
Dr. Guevara: Building a diverse medical school faculty is no easy task and likely will require intensive faculty development programs targeted to minority faculty. Findings from this study suggest programs may need five or more years to mature and provide multiple components including mentoring, career development, social climate, and research support.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations would you make for future research?
Dr. Guevara: Since the findings are primarily observational, future research should examine the effect of minority faculty development programs using experimental designs with standardized measures of success such as publication and grant numbers.
Citation:
Last Updated on March 19, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD