Inclusion and representation in the pediatric surgery workforce: Strategies to mitigate bias in the fellowship application process

Diverse perspectives are critical components of effective teams in every industry. Underrepresentation of minorities in medicine leads to worse outcomes for minority patients, and efforts to increase diversity in the health care workforce are critical. Presently, about 70% of the pediatric surgery workforce is white, and pediatric surgeons at large do not reflect the racial or ethnic diversity of the populations they serve. Pediatric surgery fellowship training programs are the gateway to the field, and fellow selection processes should be optimized to support diversity and inclusion. The Association of Pediatric Surgery Training Program Directors (APSTPD) Diversity Equity and Inclusion subcommittee compiled best practices for bias mitigation during fellow selection, drawing from published literature and personal experiences in our own programs. A list of concrete recommendations was compiled, which can be implemented in every phase from applicant screening to rank list creation. We present these as a position statement that has been endorsed by the executive committee of the APSTPD. Pediatric surgery fellowship programs can utilize this focused review of best practices to mitigate bias and support diverse applicants.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Diverse perspectives are crucial in every industry, including medicine. The underrepresentation of minorities in healthcare leads to poorer outcomes for minority patients, so efforts to increase diversity in the healthcare workforce are essential. In the field of pediatric surgery, where the majority of the workforce is currently white and does not reflect the racial or ethnic diversity of the populations served, it is important to optimize the fellow selection process to support diversity and inclusion. A position statement endorsed by the executive committee of the Association of Pediatric Surgery Training Program Directors (APSTPD) provides concrete recommendations for mitigating bias and supporting diverse applicants throughout the selection process.