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A snapshot of underrepresented physicians 15 years after medical school

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Abstract

We conducted a study to compare medical school experiences, values, career paths, and career satisfaction of under-represented in medicine (URiM) and non-URiM physicians approximately 15 years after medical school, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior and the concept of stereotype threat. The sample consisted of four graduating classes, 1996–1999, of Harvard Medical School, 20% of whom were URiM. URiM respondents came from families of lower educational attainment and graduated with more debt. As students, they reported a greater experience of stereotype threat and, and at graduation they showed a tendency to place a higher value on avoiding a career that places them under constant pressure. Concerning their current status, URiM respondents expressed a lower level of satisfaction with their career progress. Multivariable analyses indicated that across the entire sample, URiM status was not a significant predictor of employment in academic medicine, but that being in academic medicine was predicted by mentors’ encouragement for a research career, greater intention to pursue research, and a lower value on having a financially rewarding career. Lower career satisfaction was predicted by one’s status as URiM, employment in academic medicine, greater involvement in research, and a greater value on avoiding constant pressure. The data suggest that negative student experiences in medical school, combined with the lack of mentor encouragement and financial pressures may discourage URiM medical students from pursuing academic careers, and that pressures for productivity and working in academic medicine may degrade the satisfaction derived by physicians in general.

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Funding

This study was supported by Grant R01GM098549-01 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Edward Krupat

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Edward Krupat, Carlos A. Camargo, Janice A. Espinola & Jules L. Dienstag

  3. Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Carlos A. Camargo

  4. Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Gordon J. Strewler

  5. EMNet Coordinating Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Janice A. Espinola

  6. Office of Educational Quality Improvement, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Thomas J. Fleenor

  7. Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Jules L. Dienstag

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  1. Edward Krupat
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  2. Carlos A. Camargo
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  3. Janice A. Espinola
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  4. Thomas J. Fleenor
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  5. Gordon J. Strewler
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  6. Jules L. Dienstag
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Correspondence to Edward Krupat.

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Krupat, E., Camargo, C.A., Espinola, J.A. et al. A snapshot of underrepresented physicians 15 years after medical school. Adv in Health Sci Educ 25, 711–730 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-020-09954-1

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