A Call for Diversity: Underrepresented Minorities and Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Professional Development

Abstract

The presence of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in cardiothoracic anesthesiology is underwhelming, and progress toward diversity has been slow at best. Despite decades of efforts, change seems hard to achieve. For example, it took more than 30 years for women to make up 50% of medical school matriculants. However, women continue to be underrepresented in our professional subspecialty and notably. This slow movement is not idiosyncratic to women but also applies to equity related to race and ethnicity. Given this current state, this article seeks to bring attention to the lack of diversity in cardiac anesthesiology and is a call to action to accelerate efforts and the pace of change toward greater equity both in our field and in medicine in general. This piece is the final part of a 4-part series exploring opportunities for improving diversity in cardiac anesthesiology. The authors focus specifically on the professional experience of URMs in medicine in our subspecialty and the opportunities for improving diversity. While many barriers for URM physicians reflect those of women, the experience of URM practicing physicians is unique and solutions need to incorporate.