Trends in gender, race, and ethnic diversity among prospective physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians

Background: As the proportion of women and individuals who are underrepresented in medicine slowly rises, disparities persist in numerous arenas and specialties. In physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R), there is a continued need to focus on diversity among trainees. This study aims to evaluate diversity among PM&R applicants and residents over the past 6 years. Objective: To describe the demographic trends in PM&R over the last 6 years and compare those findings with trends in other specialties. Design: Surveillance. Setting: Analyses of national databases from self-reported questionnaires. Participants: The study consists of 126,833 medical school matriculants, 374,185 resident applicants, and 326,134 resident trainees over the last 6 years. Main outcome measures: Self-reported demographic data from the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education were analyzed for medical school matriculants, PM&R applicants, and current residents for the cycles of 2014–2015 to 2019–2020. The data were then comparatively reviewed between PM&R and other medical specialties. Results: In the 6 cycles evaluated, women accounted for 36%–39% of PM&R residents, but 47%–48% in non-PM&R specialties. Women applicants to the PM&R specialty averaged 34.4% over the 6 years analyzed, which was the fourth lowest of the 11 specialties examined. Black or African American and Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin populations each accounted for only 6% of PM&R residents. PM&R demonstrated a noticeably higher proportion of White (62.1% vs. 60.3%) and an observably lower proportion of Black or African American (6.0% vs. 7.1%) and Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin (6.3% vs. 7.9%) residents compared with non-PM&R specialties. Conclusion: There is underrepresentation of women and multiple racial and ethnic minority groups in the field of PM&R from applicants to trainees demonstrating a need to improve recruitment efforts.