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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Journal of Academic Ophthalmology 2022; 14(02): e271-e278
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1758561
Research Article

Perceived Barriers to Increasing Diversity within Oculofacial Plastic Surgery

Authors

  • Johsias A. Maru 

    1   School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

  • Nicole D. Carvajal

    1   School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

  • Alejandra G. de Alba Campomanes

    2   Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

  • Neeti Parikh

    2   Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

  • Davin C. Ashraf

    2   Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

  • Robert C. Kersten

    2   Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

  • Bryan J. Winn

    2   Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California
    3   Ophthalmology Section, Surgical Service, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, California

  • M. Reza Vagefi

    2   Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

  • Seanna R. Grob

    2   Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

Funding This research was supported, in part, by the UCSF Vision Shared Resource Core Grant (NIH/NEI P30 EY002162) and an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness to the Department of Ophthalmology at UCSF.
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Abstract

Purpose Physician diversity is limited in ophthalmology and oculofacial plastic surgery. Determination of barriers within the application process for oculofacial plastic surgery may help target efforts to improve the recruitment of underrepresented groups. This study aimed to illuminate perceived barriers to increasing diversity in oculofacial plastic surgery trainees, according to the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) fellows and fellowship program directors (FPDs).

Methods During the month of February 2021, we sent surveys out to 54 current oculofacial plastic surgery fellows and 56 FPDs at 56 oculofacial plastic surgery programs recognized by the ASOPRS nationwide using a 15-question Qualtrics survey.

Results Sixty-three individuals (57%) responded to the survey: 34 fellows (63%) and 29 FPDs (52%). Eighty-eight percent of fellows and 68% of FPDs identified as non-underrepresented in medicine (UiM). Forty-four percent of fellows and 25% of FPDs identified as men. FPDs most commonly noted, “Not enough minorities applying to our program” and “The objective data (Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program score, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step scores, clinical honors, Alpha Omega Alpha status, letter of recommendation) for minority applicants often do not meet the threshold required to offer an interview or to be ranked to match” as barriers. Among fellows, the lowest-rated considerations when applying to oculofacial plastic surgery were “Racially/ethnically diverse faculty” and “Perceptions of minority candidates by fellowship programs,” whereas “Likelihood of matching in program of choice” was ranked highest in considerations. Fellows identifying as men indicated greater concern for “Financial factors related to fellowship (e.g., loans, salary, cost of living, or cost of interviewing)” compared to fellows identifying as women who noted greater concern for “Program or preceptor acceptance of starting or having a family during fellowship.”

Conclusion Responses from FPDs suggest that efforts focused on recruiting and supporting diverse students to medicine and ophthalmology, mentoring applicants interested in oculofacial plastic surgery, and restructuring the application process to decrease bias, may improve diversity within the subspecialty. The lack of UiM representation in this study, 6% fellows and 7.4% FPDs identified as UiM, shows both the stark underrepresentation and the need for further research into this topic.

Keywords

oculofacial plastic surgery - oculoplastics - underrepresented - UiM - underrepresented in medicine - barriers - fellowship - minority


Publication History

Received: 19 February 2022

Accepted: 27 September 2022

Article published online:
21 December 2022

© 2022. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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