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US Psychiatry Faculty: Academic Rank, Gender and Racial Profile

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Abstract

Objective

The gender and racial underrepresentation persist in academic psychiatry faculty appointments. Our study investigated the gender and racial distribution and its temporal trends in academic psychiatry faculty positions across the USA over a 12-year period.

Methods

Using the annual reports of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), a retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. Simple descriptive statistics analyzed the time trends and the distribution of gender and race across academic ranks, tenure, and degree types.

Results

Over the 12-year study period, the White race was the most represented at each rank. In the lower academic ranks, there was an increased representation of Asians, while the minority race/ethnicities experienced minimal increment. Similarly, males were overrepresented at higher academic ranks, with females increasing in proportion at lower academic ranks.

Conclusions

Females and minorities remain underrepresented in academic psychiatry faculty positions, especially among senior academic and leadership positions. Differences in tenure tracks and degree types may contribute to the overrepresentation of White and male academic physicians.

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Funding

This study was partially supported by a grant from the Arrowhead Neuroscience Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nishtar Medical College and Hospital, Multan, Pakistan

    Amna Mohyud Din Chaudhary

  2. Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

    Sadiq Naveed

  3. Riverside University Health System Medical Center, Moreno Valley, CA, USA

    Javed Siddiqi

  4. Metropolitan Jewish Health System, New York, NY, USA

    Ashraf Mahmood

  5. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Faisal Khosa

Authors
  1. Amna Mohyud Din Chaudhary
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  2. Sadiq Naveed
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  3. Javed Siddiqi
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  4. Ashraf Mahmood
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  5. Faisal Khosa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Faisal Khosa.

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Conflict of Interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This study did not involve human or animal subjects, and was a secondary analysis of data compiled and provided by AAMC. IRB approval was not obtained for this study.

Any Applicable Disclaimer Statements

AAMC: Faculty Roster, December 31 snapshots, as of February 28, 2019. Dr. Khosa is the recipient of the AFMC-May Cohen Equity, Diversity and Gender Award (2020); Canadian Association of Radiologists-Young Investigator Award (2019); Rising Star Exchange Scholarship Program of French Society of Radiology (2019) and Humanitarian Award of Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (2019). Other authors do not have any relevant disclosures.

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Chaudhary, A.M.D., Naveed, S., Siddiqi, J. et al. US Psychiatry Faculty: Academic Rank, Gender and Racial Profile. Acad Psychiatry 44, 260–266 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01192-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01192-2

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