Tackling Disparities Early: How Today’s Medical Students Become Tomorrow’s Leaders

In January 2024 Dana H. Smetherman, MD, MPH, MBA, FACR, FSBI, became the first woman to be named CEO of the American College of Radiology® (ACR®). This marks an incredible step toward diversity in the field of radiology. Despite this remarkable moment in ACR history, gender disparities in female leadership continue to pervade radiology. A 2022 study in Academic Radiology found that while 34.7% of academic radiologists are women, only 26.1% are in full professor positions and only 30.6% are executive leaders.

For Charlotte S. Taylor, MD, who serves as Assistant Professor, Vice Chair of Education and Program Director for the Diagnostic Radiology Residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), the answer lies in early intervention. “Only modest upward trends in underrepresented minorities and female representation in radiology training programs have been shown in recent studies.” she says. Accordingly, one study found that females and minorities (27.8% and 8.3%, respectively) are underrepresented in diagnostic radiology residency in comparison to their overall representation in the United States (50.8% and 30.0%).

She adds, “From an Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) standpoint, we rely on medical schools to grow their representation in order for our applicant pool to truly grow. Our Radiology Interest Group (RIG) leaders connect with other interest groups in our medical school, such as our Black Representation in Medicine Group, and ask them to pass along information about future RIG meetings.” Proposed barriers faced by URiM interested in radiology include lack of mentorship, little early exposure and unconscious bias and discrimination.

An Academic Radiology study using 2013–2022 Electronic Residency Application Service data finds that only 27.63% of women applied to radiology, compared to 48.08% for all other specialties. Dr. Taylor notes, “The recruitment of more women into radiology is the responsibility of the residencies and radiology interest groups,” she says. “If we focus solely on resident and faculty/practice recruitment to diversify our field, we are too late.”

The ACR has resources designed to improve medical student exposure to radiology. To get started, I recommend the Medical Student Guide to the Radiology Profession. Medical students can also apply to serve on the Medical Student Section (MSS) Steering Committee, or an MSS subcommittee, or sign up for other opportunities that fit their areas of interest and time availability.

Another issue Dr. Taylor highlighted was visibility. “Most students do not receive adequate exposure to radiology during their preclinical years,” she explains. “While some medical schools integrate radiology into preclinical anatomy courses, most focus on imaging anatomy rather than the role of radiology in the healthcare system.”

We can also alleviate disparities and enhance collaboration in the field through mentorship. I connected with Dr. Taylor by reaching out to the Mississippi Radiological Society (MRS), a state chapter of the ACR, and met several of her residents and other radiologists at UMMC by attending the MRS Fall Chapter Meeting. The radiology community is very active on X (formerly Twitter), and one of my mentor’s found success in creating professional relationships by reaching out on that platform.

Finally, I highly recommend taking advantage of ACR benefits and resources for medical students, such as ACR Medical Student Curriculum Building Blocks, the Pipeline Initiative for the Enrichment of Radiology internship and the ACR Medical Student Travel Scholarship. By taking advantage of these resources, raising awareness about radiology at our institutions and creating an environment of collaboration, we can empower women and other URiM to pursue their goals. As medical students, we are in a unique position to change the future of representation within radiology. Now is the time to turn our vision into actions — you never know who you might inspire along the way.