The Medical University of South Carolina Psychiatry Residency Diversity Program

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has identified three specific minority groups that fall under the category of "Under Represented in Medicine" (URM): African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics. While approximately one third of the population in South Carolina falls into these minority groups, in 2003 only 3% of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) College of Medicine’s residents self-identified as URM.

The MUSC Psychiatry Residency program, established in 2007, aims to increase their outreach, recruitment and graduation of URM residents as a major component of its Diversity and Inclusion strategic planning. Since establishment of the program, several modifications were made to the recruitment process in order to ensure that URM applicants were not inadvertently excluded from the recruitment process. These include proactive outreach to professional associations of minority medical students and physicians, mentoring of URM students, and launching a "Diversity Matters" campaign.

The MUSC Psychiatry Residency program has the following goals related to diversification of the health care professional pool:
- increased racial and ethnic diversity reflecting the general South Carolina population
- promotion of racial/ethnic and gender diversity in leadership positions within the School of Medicine
- promotion of cultural competency and understanding
- more opportunities within the College of Medicine at all levels for individuals from all backgrounds

The proportion of URM applicants to MUSC psychiatry residencies increased from 8% in 2008 to 17% in 2015. The percentage of URM psychiatry residents enrolled in MUSC has tripled over the last seven years, from 9% in 2008 to 28% in 2015.

Since initiation of the MUSC Psychiatry Residency program, the percentage of URM psychiatry residents has tripled over the last seven years, from 9% in 2008 to 28% in 2015. The new rate of 28% is closer to the proportion of racial minorities in South Carolina, and higher than the 17% of URM who applied to MUSC psychiatry residencies in 2015.