Trump Administration Dismantling DEI & Impact on Minority Residents Aiming for Competitive Specialties

[RN-2-Medicine]

As an incoming M1 who is part of the minority and interested in ENT, it is interesting to see the current landscape in our country regarding the futile number of black [any competitive specialty] residents.

On his first day in office, Trump has seemingly dismantled DEI initiatives in the federal government and brought back "merit" based practices. We already see the trickle-down impact from large employers scaling back their DEI initiatives.

Given the recent pushback for diversity initiatives and ending affirmative action, do you see this as the start of many programs ending their DEI hiring initiatives? Interested in hearing your thoughts

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[SurfingDoctor]

Organizations are going to do whatever they want that makes them the most money and programs are going to do whatever they want with regards to DEI.

Also, executive orders last as long as the person who wrote them is in office. Hard to imagine anything really functionally changing in any capacity long term.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Also, keep your eyes on AAMC which represents teaching hospitals and medical schools. They have made it very clear diversity is important and have taken a stance that DEI initiatives will not be rolled back (it seems). Apple and Costco have resisted, and I will expect large hospital systems won't.

 

[tansky]

If you want competitive residency slots, earn them through boards/rotations/letters/research. That should be your focus.

 

[Dr.SPAC3MAN]

If you want competitive residency slots, earn them through boards/rotations/letters/research. That should be your focus.

100% agree with this. Im also a minority and have to deal with people thinking I’m where I am cause my skin (thanks to affirmative action, aka “the diverisity hire”). The focus should be on doing well and the rest will follow.

 

[operaman]

I don’t think it will make a bit of difference for ent. The programs are all too small and nobody cares enough about diversity to risk a weaker resident. Any URM you see in ent was a strong applicant who deserves it and hasn’t gotten any special boost because of their skin color.

My program was one of the most diverse in the nation and not once did that factor in to decision making for ranking. It was purely on merit and personality and “fit” just like everyone else. We achieved our diversity by being a top program and having our pick of the best people.

I will say that we had a pretty robust post-interview outreach both at the institutional and departmental level targeting URMs. It had absolutely no impact on the rank list, but any URMs who were in likely match range were courted a bit more. This meant things like invites to second look weekends, personal outreach from other URM residents and faculty, etc. I doubt that kind of thing will change now because having a diverse program is such a strong recruiting tool. Much easier for applicants to feel like they fit if you have a diverse group of residents.

 

[RN-2-Medicine]

I don’t think it will make a bit of difference for ent. The programs are all too small and nobody cares enough about diversity to risk a weaker resident. Any URM you see in ent was a strong applicant who deserves it and hasn’t gotten any special boost because of their skin color.

My program was one of the most diverse in the nation and not once did that factor in to decision making for ranking. It was purely on merit and personality and “fit” just like everyone else. We achieved our diversity by being a top program and having our pick of the best people.

I will say that we had a pretty robust post-interview outreach both at the institutional and departmental level targeting URMs. It had absolutely no impact on the rank list, but any URMs who were in likely match range were courted a bit more. This meant things like invites to second look weekends, personal outreach from other URM residents and faculty, etc. I doubt that kind of thing will change now because having a diverse program is such a strong recruiting tool. Much easier for applicants to feel like they fit if you have a diverse group of residents.

My biggest concern isn't necessarily the merit but the access to resources. I think back to my path (which may not have been called DEI at the time). I stumbled upon healthcare via diversity pipeline programs that "leveled the playing field," providing me with free science courses, access to anatomy labs, and summer internships where I learned about healthcare disparities and was prompted to do research about these disparities in the community. These diversity initiatives kept me engaged year-round, and I went on to a career in nursing. Even as a nurse, I didn't think being a physician was possible until my late 20s, primarily due to my lack of exposure to black physicians or perhaps a lack of direction and guidance from a strong mentor.

Now, I may be blurring the lines between diversity initiatives, "DEI Hires" in the work sector, and DEI Programs in the school sector, but from my position, diversity programs are not inherently evil. Dismantling these initiatives is detrimental, especially in medicine, to our future physicians, who may lack the guidance and resources of more affluent civilians.

 

[SurfingDoctor]

My biggest concern isn't necessarily the merit but the access to resources. I think back to my path (which may not have been called DEI at the time). I stumbled upon healthcare via diversity pipeline programs that "leveled the playing field," providing me with free science courses, access to anatomy labs, and summer internships where I learned about healthcare disparities and was prompted to do research about these disparities in the community. These diversity initiatives kept me engaged year-round, and I went on to a career in nursing. Even as a nurse, I didn't think being a physician was possible until my late 20s, primarily due to my lack of exposure to black physicians or perhaps a lack of direction and guidance from a strong mentor.

Now, I may be blurring the lines between diversity initiatives, "DEI Hires" in the work sector, and DEI Programs in the school sector, but from my position, diversity programs are not inherently evil. Dismantling these initiatives is detrimental, especially in medicine, to our future physicians, who may lack the guidance and resources of more affluent civilians.

I seriously doubt pipeline programs are in any danger.

 

[vivaciousmelon]

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I seriously doubt pipeline programs are in any danger.

Pipeline programs have suffered at my school, beginning with the end of affirmative action. One was eliminated (linkage-type program) and another suffered dramatic cuts. Our DEI office was renamed and most of the staff was let go.

I think you’re greatly underestimating the potential effects this administration and its policies can have on real people.

 

[operaman]

My biggest concern isn't necessarily the merit but the access to resources. I think back to my path (which may not have been called DEI at the time). I stumbled upon healthcare via diversity pipeline programs that "leveled the playing field," providing me with free science courses, access to anatomy labs, and summer internships where I learned about healthcare disparities and was prompted to do research about these disparities in the community. These diversity initiatives kept me engaged year-round, and I went on to a career in nursing. Even as a nurse, I didn't think being a physician was possible until my late 20s, primarily due to my lack of exposure to black physicians or perhaps a lack of direction and guidance from a strong mentor.

Now, I may be blurring the lines between diversity initiatives, "DEI Hires" in the work sector, and DEI Programs in the school sector, but from my position, diversity programs are not inherently evil. Dismantling these initiatives is detrimental, especially in medicine, to our future physicians, who may lack the guidance and resources of more affluent civilians.

I suspect we will see some changes on that front, especially with anything that receives federal monies.

As always, the devil is in the details. My spidey sense is that many things will come back but with a different name. DEI is simply too tainted now and has too much baggage, but contained within are many good ideas and good programs and those will probably get rebranded. The pendulum is just swinging back and forth a bit.

My feeling is that diversity programs as they are done now in many places are simply lazy, not evil. They use race as a surrogate marker for being disadvantaged and then pat themselves on the back. My hope is that we develop a better system that lifts of those in need regardless of skin color, even if it disproportionately helps people of color since there is so much hardship in those communities.

 

[MDMechEngr]

Focus on your studies, get a good mentor, work with your home program, network and build connections, be better than average and I think you will match ENT. Federal funding for DEI programs may go away, but I think the momentum likely will continue. Being a URM does not really favor you for a competitive residency like it does for medical school is my observation. I knew someone who relied too much on being URM and they did not match their competitive specialty.