Recruiting diverse radiology residency candidates: 5 tips from program directors
A recent survey directed at radiology residency program directors sought to address the lack of diversity in what is widely considered one of the least diverse medical specialties.
“Given the critical role of residency program directors in selecting diverse applicants, this study was performed to identify which strategies were most preferred to increase the number of female and/or URiM (under-represented in medicine) residents by directors of diagnostic radiology residency training programs,” the authors who analyzed the responses explained, citing the stagnant progress of diversifying the field.
The questionnaire was distributed to 181 potential participants in each geographical region in the United States, of which 19.9% responded. Directors ranked a variety of diversification strategies in order of what they preferred most. The top five most preferred strategies are as follows:
Directly recruiting medical students.
Promoting mentorship by female and minority faculty.
Increasing number of female and minority teaching faculty.
Implementing institutional unconscious bias training.
Increasing number of female and minority interviewers.
The strategies that mustered the least amount of enthusiasm included reducing emphasis on exam scores, enrolling more international graduates, accepting a minimum number of female and/or URiM applicants, and blinding applications.
The authors noted that respondents supported opening discussions with potential recruits about workplace issues for female and/or URiM trainees as well. These findings are in line with the results of similar diversity studies, which found that female applicants place more emphasis on program demographics, faculty and resident diversity.
The authors acknowledged a notable limitation of their study, which is that all program directors are subject to the outcome of the NRMP algorithm. If an under-represented or minority applicant who has been ranked highly by a program director does not rank the program itself highly, the program will not match the applicants. This, in turn, can give the false impression that the program does not prioritize inclusivity, despite dedicated efforts to do so, the authors explained.
“More is needed to be known about how program directors formulate their rank lists and how the diversity of applicants is factored into ranking qualified applicants,” corresponding author Arif Musa, MS, of Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, and co-authors wrote. “Both parties are subject to the NRMP Match algorithm suggesting that the inclusivity of diagnostic radiology residencies should not solely be judged by the diversity of their resident workforces.”
The full results of the survey can be found in Academic Radiology.
Related radiology residency content:
Virtual radiology residency interviews 'very successful' but future processes remain uncertain
6 tips for young radiologists entering residency
Key lessons from pandemic-era virtual education for med students
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.