Interesting observation about residency programs

[sophiejane]

I noticed the other day that two programs I am interviewing at have exactly opposite gender (and ethnic) breakdown. One is 80% female and probably 60% non-caucasian, and the other is about 80% male and 75% white, and has been for the past several years.

I would think one year might be an anomaly, but several years in a row, you have to wonder.

I know it is a match process, so there must be things about those programs that are attractive to more or fewer women and minorities. But it will be interesting to compare the two once interviews are over and see if there were other factors at work there.

Anyone else seeing this on interviews?

(By the way, I'm not intending to be exclusionary to other disciplines, I'm just speaking about my experience in medicine. Would love to hear from others in different disciplines on this or any other topic).

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[deleted87716]

This could be due to bias on the part of the residency programs, but there may be some self-selection going on, too. A white male resident might feel more comfortable at the second program you mentioned, for example. It might not all be the residency's doing.

 

[sophiejane]

This could be due to bias on the part of the residency programs, but there may be some self-selection going on, too. A white male resident might feel more comfortable at the second program you mentioned, for example. It might not all be the residency's doing.

Exactly, that's what I tried to say above, in that there are features of these programs that are attractive to the people who match there.

I tend to think it is more of a combination of things, I'm just curious as to what those might be.

There are tons of women in FM, so I highly doubt there is any sort of gender bias going on, I just thought it was interesting.

 

[justwondering]

my med schl was traditionally low on minority (asian, indians, etc) numbers, they did a lot of pointed recruitment and numbers have gotten much better. i think its a vicious cycle. there arent a lot of a particular group (women/minorities/etc), so those groups may be a little less willing to go there and it just perpetuates the same break down.

 

[sdn1977]

Sophie - I'll respond as a pharmacist from N CA.....we don't have a "match" for our residencies as medicine does. Actually, I'm not even sure how the match goes since I graduated so long ago......

However....certainly, in my area...for pharmacy admissions, to the major pharmacy school in my area, the ethnicity reflects the mix of my state, altho not a direct proportion. Asians make up a good proportion of the entering classes of pharmacy schools (and, remember, there are many asian cultures - not all are related to each other!), however, they are not considered a minority becuase they are actually the majority in the city the school is located in....does that make sense???? That is not the case with every state however.

However...that is not to say that asians are preferred or given preferential treatment - I'm not sure actually what draws them to pharmacy any more than what drew me . However....I want to make it plain - this is their ethnic background - not necessarily their culture nor their citizenship background. Many I went to school with have as long a background in this country as my family...so - I guess I just think its a moot point - we are all Americans & since CA is a very multiethnic society, our school reflects that - to our advantage I have to say! I never went to school with folks who were accepted from other countries...but that was a long time ago. I have no explanation nor have I seen one in studies. Actually....I long ago stopped "seeing" people by their ethnicity...but, I know statistics are kept.

However...when it comes to gender - that is a whole different matter. Women have become the majority of applicants & acceptances to pharmacy school in the last several years (I think .....I haven't checked the statistics recently..)

The reason for this is easy - it is a very "women friendly" profession. It is easy to "come in & go out" of the profession for family or other pursuits as long as you keep up to date with medications, dosages, usages, etc.....plus - there is a tremendous shortage of pharmacists. It is easy to start working full-time, go part-time then back to full-time. However, this is a reflection of the current economy. When I graduated in 1977 - it was difficult to find a job...things are different now.

As for pharmacy residents....I really have no basis on which to make a comment.

 

[SwimSwam]

Sophie - I'll respond as a pharmacist from N CA.....we don't have a "match" for our residencies as medicine does. Actually, I'm not even sure how the match goes since I graduated so long ago......

However....certainly, in my area...for pharmacy admissions, to the major pharmacy school in my area, the ethnicity reflects the mix of my state, altho not a direct proportion. Asians make up a good proportion of the entering classes of pharmacy schools (and, remember, there are many asian cultures - not all are related to each other!), however, they are not considered a minority becuase they are actually the majority in the city the school is located in....does that make sense???? That is not the case with every state however.

However...that is not to say that asians are preferred or given preferential treatment - I'm not sure actually what draws them to pharmacy any more than what drew me . However....I want to make it plain - this is their ethnic background - not necessarily their culture nor their citizenship background. Many I went to school with have as long a background in this country as my family...so - I guess I just think its a moot point - we are all Americans & since CA is a very multiethnic society, our school reflects that - to our advantage I have to say! I never went to school with folks who were accepted from other countries...but that was a long time ago. I have no explanation nor have I seen one in studies. Actually....I long ago stopped "seeing" people by their ethnicity...but, I know statistics are kept.

However...when it comes to gender - that is a whole different matter. Women have become the majority of applicants & acceptances to pharmacy school in the last several years (I think .....I haven't checked the statistics recently..)

The reason for this is easy - it is a very "women friendly" profession. It is easy to "come in & go out" of the profession for family or other pursuits as long as you keep up to date with medications, dosages, usages, etc.....plus - there is a tremendous shortage of pharmacists. It is easy to start working full-time, go part-time then back to full-time. However, this is a reflection of the current economy. When I graduated in 1977 - it was difficult to find a job...things are different now.

As for pharmacy residents....I really have no basis on which to make a comment.

I know this is an old post, but I just had to make a comment. There are essentially 2 types of domestic ethnic minorities in the US: "disadvantaged", and non. Asians fall into the non-disadvantaged category and are therefore not subject to any preferential treatment with regard to admissions quotas, recruiting, or financial aid. This is irrespective of the demographic concentrations of a particular region.