# Addressing Surgical Disparities at the Root; Working to improve diversity in the surgical workforce

> **NIH NIH R01** · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · 2024 · $669,355

## Abstract

Abstract
Addressing Surgical Disparities at the Root: Improving Diversity in the Surgical Workforce
The recent COVID-19 pandemic, racially motivated murders, and subsequent protests underscore what we
already know--that racial disparities in medicine run far deeper than patient outcomes alone and must be
addressed at all levels. Racial and gender disparities in surgical outcomes and satisfaction are well documented.
From a pipeline perspective, surgery struggles to maintain and promote underrepresented minority (UIM) and
women residents and faculty. Efforts to improve diversity in the workforce overtime have not kept pace with the
increased diversity in our patient populations. There is evidence that improving diversity in the surgical workforce
can improve the quality and outcomes of care for UIM and women patients. The proposed study involves a team
of interdisciplinary investigators with complimentary expertise and a strong record of research in the topic area
collaborating with multiple stakeholder societies. Our objective is to reduce disparities in surgical care using a
novel, transdisciplinary, multi-institutional deviance approach to characterize disparities in the surgical workforce,
set best practice guidelines, and develop a pilot intervention. Our central hypothesis is that by using deviance
methodology we can identify best practices in retention and promotion of women and minority faculty and
trainees in surgery that can be used to help increase diversity in the work force and ultimately patient quality of
care. We will perform a secondary data analysis to measure diversity among surgical faculty across the U.S.;
identify programs with the best and worst records of promotion and retention of UIM and women faculty; and
document the range of promotion and retention among these groups at academic medical centers to identify
predictors of successful diversity efforts Using AAMC data combined with ABS data and qualifying as well as
certifying examination data, we will describe the sociodemographic profile of surgical trainees and current
attrition rates for surgical residents in the U.S., identifying those programs with the best and worst records of
graduating residents. We will utilize data on cultural competency and bias assessment surveys collected from
our target programs as well as focus groups with the National Medical Association, the Association of Women
Surgeons and the Historically Black Medical Colleges and Universities and in-depth, qualitative interviews with
program administrators, UIM and women trainees, faculty, and department and division heads at programs that
have been successful - or struggled at - retaining and promoting UIM and women faculty to study best and worst
practices and organizational characteristics. Finally, we will take predictors from our quantitative analysis,
themes from our qualitative analysis, and coordinate a Delphi panel of academic leaders and patient advocacy
groups to create a set of best pract...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10842343
- **Project number:** 5R01MD018464-02
- **Recipient organization:** WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** JULIE ANN SOSA
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $669,355
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-05-16 → 2027-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10842343

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10842343, Addressing Surgical Disparities at the Root; Working to improve diversity in the surgical workforce (5R01MD018464-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10842343. Licensed CC0.

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