TY - JOUR
T1 - The Heart of the Matter
T2 - A Path to Building Diversity in Pediatric Cardiology
AU - Ezeoke, Ogochukwu M.
AU - Williams, Jason
AU - Ogueri, Vanessa
AU - Hills, Brittney K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023.
PY - 2024/8
Y1 - 2024/8
N2 - Our essay discusses the impact of underrepresentation in medical training, with a focus on pediatric cardiology. We use the perspective of a physician who is underrepresented in medicine (URiM), and has chosen to pursue a career in pediatric cardiology, to initiate an analysis of the current path toward pediatric cardiology and the factors in undergraduate and graduate medical education which could currently be optimized to improve diversity in training. We argue that a lack of diversity among physicians leads to worse patient outcomes, and we describe steps to improve representation in the field. In order to improve representation in pediatric cardiology, we must reflect upon our current practices and implement systemic changes within cardiology training program recruitment and retention practices. These changes should include continuous mentorship of URiM trainees interested in cardiology and prioritization of research that investigates social determinants of health which may disproportionally affect minority patients.
AB - Our essay discusses the impact of underrepresentation in medical training, with a focus on pediatric cardiology. We use the perspective of a physician who is underrepresented in medicine (URiM), and has chosen to pursue a career in pediatric cardiology, to initiate an analysis of the current path toward pediatric cardiology and the factors in undergraduate and graduate medical education which could currently be optimized to improve diversity in training. We argue that a lack of diversity among physicians leads to worse patient outcomes, and we describe steps to improve representation in the field. In order to improve representation in pediatric cardiology, we must reflect upon our current practices and implement systemic changes within cardiology training program recruitment and retention practices. These changes should include continuous mentorship of URiM trainees interested in cardiology and prioritization of research that investigates social determinants of health which may disproportionally affect minority patients.
KW - Diversity and equity
KW - Fellowship training
KW - Pediatric cardiology
KW - Pediatrics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150641854&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85150641854&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00246-023-03144-7
DO - 10.1007/s00246-023-03144-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 36961540
AN - SCOPUS:85150641854
SN - 0172-0643
VL - 45
SP - 1364
EP - 1371
JO - Pediatric Cardiology
JF - Pediatric Cardiology
IS - 6
ER -