Sub Internship Scholarships Promote Diversity in Plastic Surgery

OBJECTIVE: The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in graduate medical education (GME) is a well-accepted core value. Multiple initiatives have been implemented to increase DEI in GME, one of which is scholarships for 4th year visiting medical student sub-interns. The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) originally defined Under Represented in Medicine (URM) as students who identify as Black or African American; Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin; or Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Some scholarships use this as criteria for application, whereas others have expanded criteria. This study aims to determine if these scholarship opportunities increase representation of these groups in their residency programs. METHODS: Self-identified demographic data was obtained from the applications of 4th year medical students at a single Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) residency program. Applicants who did not pass our first round of screening and those who went unmatched were excluded from our final analysis. The websites of all residency programs were reviewed to determine if their institution offered scholarships to visiting medical students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in medicine (URM) that could be applied to a PRS rotation. Applicants were categorized into two cohorts based on self-identified race or ethnicity; those considered to be underrepresented and overrepresented in medicine based on the AAMC's original definitions of the terms. Chi Squared analysis was performed to determine whether URM applicants were more likely to match at residency programs that offered diversity scholarships. Significance was determined using a p-value of 0.05. RESULTS: Just under half of all PRS residency programs are affiliated with institutions that offer scholarships for URM applicants (n= 37; 43.53%). A total of 232 applicants from the graduating medical classes of 2021 to 2023 were included in our final analysis. Our cohort is nationally representative, consisting of current residents at 81 residency programs. Applicants considered to be URM consisted of 20.69% (n=48) of our cohort. Nearly two thirds of URM applicants (n=30; 62.50%) matched into programs offering diversity scholarships. This is compared to 45.65% (n=84) of applicants considered to be ORM (p=0.04). CONCLUSION: Though the definition of diversity and what it means to be under represented in medicine evolves over time and differs between settings, our analysis shows that those racial and ethnic groups originally deemed under represented in medicine by AAMC more frequently match at programs that offer diversity scholarships. This could be due to the original intent of scholarships giving opportunity to those that may not have had one otherwise, or because the presence of these scholarships advertises a URM friendly environment to applicants when they apply to and rank programs. This analysis supports that programs that offer scholarships to URM students increase representation of these racial groups at their institution. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Sarah Buhay; 3024 Barton Dr. Sterling Heights, MI, 48310; email protected, 5863659745