Promising Practices in US Sponsoring Institutions to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Graduate Medical Education

Abstract

Background Best practices to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the biomedical workforce remain poorly understood. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education launched the Barbara Ross-Lee, DO, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion award for sponsoring institutions to celebrate efforts to improve DEI in graduate medical education (GME). Objective To identify themes in practices used by award applicants to improve DEI efforts at their institutions, using a qualitative design. Methods This qualitative study employed an exploratory, inductive approach and constant comparative method to analyze award applications from 2 submission cycles (2020, 2021). Data analysis involved the use of a preliminary codebook of 29 program applications used in a previous study, which was modified and expanded, to perform a subsequent analysis of 12 sponsoring institution applications. Seven adjudication sessions were conducted to ensure coding consistency and resolve disagreements, resulting in the identification of final themes. Results Institutions’ approaches to advancing DEI resulted from work within 5 themes and 10 subthemes. The themes encompassed organizational commitment (policies that reflect DEI mission), data infrastructure (tracking recruitment, retention, and inclusion efforts), community connection (service-learning opportunities), diverse team engagement (coproduction with residents), and systematic strategies for DEI support throughout the educational continuum. Consistent across themes was the importance of collaboration, avoiding silos, and the need for a comprehensive longitudinal approach to DEI to achieve a diverse GME workforce. Conclusions This qualitative study identified 5 themes that can inform and guide sponsoring institutions in promoting DEI.