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. 2023 Jun 27;7(Suppl 1):S22-S32.
doi: 10.1002/aet2.10873. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Strategies for recruiting underrepresented in medicine and sexual and gender minority students to emergency medicine

Lauren T Wilson  1 , Benjamin Weigel  1 , Edgardo Ordonez  1 , Navdeep Sekhon  1 , Adedoyin Adesina  1 , Anisha Turner  1 , Aleksandr M Tichter  1 , Sarah Bezek  1 , Ynhi T Thomas  1
Affiliations

Strategies for recruiting underrepresented in medicine and sexual and gender minority students to emergency medicine

Lauren T Wilson et al. AEM Educ Train. .

Abstract

Background: Despite having well-described benefits, diversifying the physician workforce has been an ongoing challenge. Within emergency medicine (EM), multiple professional organizations have identified expanding diversity and inclusion as top priorities. The following is a description of an interactive session held at the SAEM annual meeting addressing recruitment strategies for underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and sexual and gender minority (SGM) students into EM.

Methods: During the session, the authors provided an overview of the current state of diversity in EM. In the small-group portion of the session, a facilitator helped characterize the challenges programs face in recruiting URiM and SGM students. These challenges were described during three distinct phases of the recruitment process: (1) preinterview, (2) interview day, and (3) postinterview.

Results: Our facilitated small-group session allowed for discussing the challenges faced by various programs in recruiting a diverse group of trainees. Common challenges in the preinterview and interview day included messaging and visibility as well as funding and support. Postinterview challenges included communication and the ranking process. Through this exercise, we were able to collaboratively share ideas on tangible solutions that programs may use to overcome their specific challenges.

Conclusions: Given the importance of intentionality in diversifying the physician workforce, the authors describe successful strategies implemented within one residency program and those shared by session participants to overcome recruitment challenges.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Ten strategies for recruiting URiM and SGM students to EM. SGM, sexual and gender minority; URiM, underrepresented in medicine.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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