GEORGIA AND THE DIVERSE PHYSICIAN PROBLEM THE NEED FOR MORE RADICAL CHANGE IN MEDICAL EDUCATION

Objectives: Between 1900 and 1940 the number of Black physicians in the US was 1.3% and 2.8% respectively, of which 2% were surgeons.1,2 This was disproportionate to the Black population at the time (11.6% and 9.7% respectively).1,2 This historical disparity in representation centers the importance of representation at every stage of physician training. Our analysis considers Black representation at these stages nationally and in the state of Georgia from 1970 to 2020.

Methods: National and state data were aggregated from several databases to observe the trends of physician representation. The observed trends were then compiled and reported as an observational study of the relative representation of Black people in medical school education and medical practice.

Results: From 1971 to 1975 less than 10% of the students from marginalized groups matriculated into medical school despite the nation’s combined minority population composing nearly 20% of the US population. According to the AAMC, Black applicants were also accepted and graduated at lower rates than their peers between 1974 and 2015.4

National residency from 2020 demonstrated that 5.5% of practicing residents in the United States were Black.5 This number is disproportionately small because 50.8% of the residents were white, 21.8% Asian, and 7.5% Hispanic.5

Attending physicians account for 4.6% of the medical workforce.6 When considering practicing surgeons, only 2.0% are Black. 1,7 Therefore, there is an observed national pattern of Black underrepresentation perpetuated from medical school acceptance through attending physician employment.

In considering recent trends in Georgia medical schools, residency, and attending statistics, data from 2015 and 2020 was compiled to assess the relative rate of representation of Black physicians. Between 2015 and 2020, 14.3% and 14.9% of graduating medical students were Black. 14,15 In that time, the proportion of graduating residents increased from12.9% to 14.5%, and attending physicians decreased from 14.8% to 11.5%.13,16,17,18 For surgery, the number decreased from 9.3% to 8.5%.13, 18

Conclusion: We have observed subtle increases in the proportion of Black students graduating from medical schools and residency programs in the state of Georgia between 2015 and 2020. However, we have also observed a decrease in the proportion of attending physicians in most primary care fields. Given that 33% of Georgia’s population identifies as Black, there is a stark inequity. Increasing the capacity of Georgia medical schools and residency programs to train underrepresented students will allow a greater opportunity to correct these observed disparities by increasing the diversity of the physician workforce.