Addressing Representation in Ophthalmology Training

We read with great interest the article by Paracha et al, as the authors explored how intersectionality manifests itself in existing disparities in representation of gender, race, and ethnicity in ophthalmology residency training. The authors stratify data using representation quotients for gender, race, and ethnicity between ophthalmology residency applicants or matriculants and what would be expected from their representation in medical school. Although it is unclear why the authors used a date range of 2015 to 2021 for applicant data and 2007 to 2021 for ophthalmology residency matriculant and medical school participants, the effect of intersectionality is manifested in their finding that students who identified as Black and/or women had the lowest representation quotients of matriculants into ophthalmology residency, with Black women having the lowest matriculation quotient of all. In addition, they found lower relative quotients for matriculants than applicants who identified as Black or Hispanic, further highlighting continued disparities among underrepresented students matching into ophthalmology training. Future studies analyzing matriculant data relative to applicant data using representation quotients would further shed light on trends in disparities in acceptance rates into ophthalmology at the level of the match process.

This post was originally published on this site