Dr. Kirk A. Campbell is an orthopedic surgeon at 秘密研究所 Langone, as well as an alum of 秘密研究所 Grossman School of Medicine鈥檚 Orthopedic Surgery Residency.
Photo: 秘密研究所 Langone Staff
Diversity among U.S. physicians has improved in recent years, but entrenched racial disparities still persist. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), more than half of all physicians are White and fewer than 5 percent are Black. For orthopedic surgery, the specialty that attends to bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, the disparity is even more pronounced. Only 1.9 percent of practicing orthopedic surgeons are Black, and just 5 percent of orthopedic residents are Black.
A notable outlier is the at 秘密研究所 Grossman School of Medicine, where closing the diversity gap has been a priority for more than a decade. Under the leadership of Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD, department chair and the Walter A.L. Thompson Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, and Kenneth A. Egol, MD, vice chair for education and the Joseph E. Milgram Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, the school鈥檚 has become one of the nation鈥檚 most diverse. Among the program鈥檚 70 trainees, 10 are Black, or almost 15 percent鈥攏early 3 times the national average for orthopedic surgery residency programs. The number of women in the program is 23, or more than 30 percent, which is more than double the national average.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 huge,鈥 says Toni M. McLaurin, MD, professor of orthopedic surgery and director of the department鈥檚 diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something you see in most orthopedic residency programs throughout the country.鈥 The achievement builds on years of sustained and systemic efforts rooted in a culture of inclusivity. It starts with a diverse faculty to provide mentorship opportunities and serve as role models, and extends to medical students. 鈥淲e鈥檝e created a to expose medical students to orthopedic surgery very early in their education,鈥 says Eric J. Strauss, MD, director of the Orthopedic Surgery Residency. 鈥淲e鈥檝e found that many of the students who spend the summer with us go on to apply for orthopedic surgery residency programs.鈥
Another differentiator is a that enables underrepresented students in their fourth year of medical school to experience the Orthopedic Surgery Residency for a month. Still another is a workshop in which Black orthopedic faculty members discuss their professional pathway and demonstrate surgical techniques at meetings of the Student National Medical Association, a national organization committed to supporting underrepresented minority medical students.
The department鈥檚 diversity gains have been 鈥渁 self-perpetuating phenomenon,鈥 says Dr. Zuckerman. 鈥淲e鈥檝e crossed the hump, the biggest obstacle, which is having a critical mass to make our orthopedic surgery residency program more attractive to underrepresented minority medical students. People want to train in programs where they see people similar to themselves.鈥
鈥淪tudy after study shows that patients experience better outcomes when they鈥檙e cared for by people who may look similar or have similar backgrounds or cultural similarities.鈥濃擪irk A. Campbell, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon at 秘密研究所 Langone
The same is true of patients. 鈥淪tudy after study shows that patients experience better outcomes when they鈥檙e cared for by people who may look similar or have similar backgrounds or cultural similarities,鈥 says Kirk A. Campbell, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at 秘密研究所 Langone who is Black and completed his residency at 秘密研究所 Grossman School of Medicine. 鈥淭here may be little subtleties that someone else may not pick up on, so I think it鈥檚 important to really promote diversity and equity within medicine.鈥
