Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work Group: Diverse Stories in Radiology

Judy Fustok, MD, JD

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) Medical Student Subcommittee is excited to announce the launch of our new social media project, “Diverse Stories in Radiology,” this summer. Spearheaded by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work group, this project will feature stories of radiologists from diverse backgrounds on ACR social media with the goal of recruiting women, those underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and LGBTQ+ students to the field of radiology.

Medical students will interview practicing radiologists, and each post will spotlight a different radiologist in the field and detail the radiologist's story — particularly their path to the profession. Our goal for the Diverse Stories in Radiology project is to expose medical students to radiologists from various backgrounds as early as possible in their training. The ACR DEI work group believes that it is important to celebrate and highlight the diversity in the field of radiology.

Only about 25% of practicing radiologists and 30% of radiology trainees are women¹. Additionally, those URiM comprise only about 6% of faculty in radiology². Representation matters, and seeing a diverse tapestry of radiologists on a public platform like ACR social media encourages young medical students to consider the field, tells them that a career in radiology is possible and features potential mentors in the field.

The Diverse Stories in Radiology project is still in its inception this year. As the project expands, the ACR hopes to include fellows and residents alike, and to support mentorship by connecting medical students and those pursuing a career in radiology. In addition to promoting diversity and encouraging students to pursue radiology, this will help develop future leaders, not just within the ACR, but in the field as a whole.

Other DEI initiatives include creating a listserv with contact information for the diversity offices of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools around the nation in an effort to more broadly disseminate DEI opportunities and initiatives provided by the ACR. The ACR will also continue to promote the ACR Summer PIER Program (Pipeline Initiative for Enrichment of Radiology), which was launched in 2017 and serves to introduce female and URiM medical students to the field of radiology.

The DEI subgroup is very excited to share the Diverse Stories in Radiology and would love to connect with anyone who is interested in joining this project or any other diversity initiative.

1. Ladd LM, Bonaminio DN, Gonda AS, et al. A Mentorship and Networking Group for Women in Radiology. J Am Coll Radiol. 2017;14(7):987-990. doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2017.01.003
2. Chapman CH, Hwang WT, Both S, Thomas CR Jr, Deville C. Current status of diversity by race, Hispanic ethnicity, and sex in diagnostic radiology. Radiology. 2014;270(1):232-240. doi:10.1148/radiol.13130101