The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately negative impact on racially and ethnically diverse patient populations. Inspired by this trend, representatives from the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) hosted a virtual roundtable focused on increasing diversity in the healthcare workforce and improving patient care.

Findings from that roundtable have now been printed in full in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, a publication of the American Heart Association (AHA). [1]

“Ensuring that racial and ethnic minority groups receive the same quality healthcare as white individuals requires a healthcare workforce that can address the unmet needs of diverse populations, particularly through understanding their lived experiences,” wrote first author Norrisa A. Haynes, MD, MPH, MSHP, a cardiologist with the Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues. “A diverse healthcare workforce represents a crucial component toward achieving health equity. However, racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine (URM), including Black, Hispanic, American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander populations, experience numerous challenges in pursuit of careers in the medical field.”

The U.S. healthcare system’s long history of barriers and bottlenecks for minority groups

Haynes et al. noted that a lack of diversity has always been an issue with the U.S. healthcare system, highlighting a report back in 1910 that pushed for a majority of predominantly Black medical schools to be closed and said Black trainees should focus on “hygiene rather than surgery.”

This is just one of many examples of the uphill struggle Black, Hispanic and other URM patient populations have faced over the years. In fact, the authors identified specific issues in every step of a student’s educational pathway—from kindergarten, middle school and high school all the way to grad school and beyond—that have led to the issues in equality and diversity seen today. When diversity it not viewed as a priority, the group noted, it can make change nearly impossible. Systemic change, however, can make a substantial difference. At Duke University, for example, specific efforts to bring in a more diverse group of cardiology fellows resulted in the number of URM fellows jumping from 10% to 33% in just three years.

“The Duke cardiology fellowship example as well as other programs will be judged over time based on their ability to sustain these initiatives as well as the support provided to ensure the success of matriculants, and the systematic feedback from women and URM applicants who were ranked to match but did not attend,” the authors wrote.