How Otolaryngology Programs Are Working to Create a More Diverse Workforce

by Cheryl Alkon •

Diversity in Otolaryngology

Otolaryngology, like other specialties, is eager to attract the brightest people to the field. To that end, there are several initiatives from organizations such as the Society of University Otolaryngologists (SUO) and the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS).

Mentoring, coaching, and early exposure to the field of otolaryngology help bring more ethnically and culturally diverse talent and voices into the otolaryngology field, said Carrie L. Francis, MD, SUO’s diversity chair and associate professor and assistant dean of student affairs in the department of otolaryngology, head and neck surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. “Having an otolaryngology presence in medical school is helpful and harkens back to early exposure.” The society does this by developing relationships with various medical student associations and historically Black colleges such as Morehouse and Meharry Medical College as well as the SNMA and the Latino Medical Student Association.

Dr. Cabrera-Muffly cites mentoring as a way to increase diversity in the field of otolaryngology. “It’s important at all levels of the pipeline,” she said. “We need to mentor students to join our field, provide support to residents during their training, and ensure continued mentorship for URM faculty so that they will stay in academics to be examples for the next generation.”

Mentors needn’t be minorities themselves, either, she added. “As a Latina in otolaryngology, my mentors have not all been female or Latino, but they have made a huge impact in my life regardless.” Irrespective of their background or ethnicity, a senior-level person who has made her/his way through the otolaryngology field has a lot to offer earlier-career otolaryngologists. “Most senior faculty are not URM, but chances are that they will be in the position to mentor URM students and residents as the numbers increase.”

Without those increases, “we are doing a disservice to our patients and we are leaving talent on the table,” said Dr. Cabrera-Muffly. “If we discriminate against any group, we leave out the potential world-changing contributions of that group.”

Cheryl Alkon is a freelance medical writer based in Massachusetts.

Key Points

  • Efforts to increase diversity help build understanding and improve the field of otolaryngology overall.
  • Academic institutions are implementing implicit bias training for medical school admissions teams.
  • Mentoring, coaching, and early exposure to the field help attract more ethnically and culturally diverse talent and voices.

Ways to Increase Diversity in Otolaryngology

  1. Implement implicit bias training for medical school admissions teams: Doing so helps widen the scope when considering candidates for medical school admission. Holistic review, a process that analyzes everything about a candidate and not merely high marks on standardized tests, can help identify diverse candidates who can show a clear interest in medicine or ripe potential that may not be obvious if test scores and grades don’t meet a specific measure.
  2. Make mentoring a priority: Formal relationships between senior and junior-level otolaryngologists is a crucial way to help bring more diverse people to the field, though if collaborations happen on their own, that is fine, too. “Some of the best relationships happen organically, but we can assign them until people find their own mentors, because it’s important for all leaders to provide mentorship,” said Cristina Cabrera-Muffly, M., associate professor and residency program director, department of otolaryngology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “As a Latina in otolaryngology, several of my mentors have not been female or Latino, but they made a huge impact in my life regardless.”
  3. Find opportunities to showcase early exposure to otolaryngology as a specialty: SUO has developed relationships with historically black colleges and minority student organizations so that there is an SUO presence at annual national conference and regional events, said Dr. Francis. Having SUO available as a resource for earlier career medical students allows them to learn about the field of otolaryngology and to have enough information about it to properly consider it as a specialty.—CA

The Drawbacks of Lower Rates of Diversity

Without concentrated efforts to increase diversity in the otolaryngology field, let alone in medicine itself, the profession won’t reflect the patient population it serves and won’t benefit from new ideas that come from different perspectives, experts say.