The Impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Scholarships for Acting Interns on the Diversity of Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs

Abstract

Background Improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in orthopaedic surgery is a priority as statistics continue to demonstrate it as the least diverse surgical subspecialty. DEI scholarships for Acting Interns have been recently developed to recruit more diverse candidates. Objective To determine the impact of DEI scholarships on the orthopaedic surgery residency application process. Design An anonymous survey was distributed to program directors at ACGME accredited orthopaedic residencies that offered DEI scholarships for visiting medical students. The survey inquired about factors involved in scholarship implementation, source of funding, number of scholarship applications received, factors considered in selecting recipients, number of DEI scholarships awarded, program results in the 2023 Match, demographics of incoming first-year residents, and program directors’ observations following implementation. Results Of the 49 programs with known DEI scholarships, 16 (32.7%) completed the survey. During the 2023 Match cycle, respondents matched an average of 5 residents (SD 0.5, Range 3 – 8) consisting of 36.7% female (SD 31.7%, Range 0 – 100%) and 36.9 (SD 28.2%, Range 0 – 100%) underrepresented minority (URM) residents. Following scholarship implementation, most program directors (56.2%) observed a rise in URM student rotators with an associated 18.8% increase in the number of URM residents. Additionally, 18.8% of programs claimed that scholarship recipients either matched at their program or another orthopaedic residency program. Respondents reported that 68.8% (SD 41.5%, Range 0 – 100%) of scholarship recipients received an invitation to interview at the awarding program. Of the three programs (18.8%) that claimed recipients matched at their program, two (13.3%) reported they matched one DEI scholar, while the other (6.7%) stated that five DEI scholars matched into their program. Conclusion DEI scholarships may be an effective strategy for promoting diversity in orthopaedics. However, longitudinal data and increased institutional GME funding are required to increase the proportion of orthopaedic residency programs that offer these scholarships for visiting students.