• Jocelyn Freeman Garrick, Berenice Perez, Tiffany C Anaebere, Petrina Craine, Claire Lyons, and Tammy Lee.
• Alameda Health System Department of Emergency Medicine, Highland Hospital, Oakland, CA. Electronic address: jgarrick@alamedahealthsystem.org.
• Ann Emerg Med. 2019 Jun 1; 73 (6): 639-647.

AbstractBlacks, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians make up 33% of the US population. These same groups are underrepresented in medicine. In 2013, the physician workforce was 4.1% black, 4.4% Hispanic/Latino, 0.4% American Indian or Alaska Native, 11.7% Asian, and 48.9% white. Only 9.9% of emergency physicians identify as underrepresented minority (4.5% black, 4.8% Hispanic/Latino, and 0.6% American Indian/Alaska Native). Efforts to increase the number of underrepresented minority physicians are important because previous studies show improved outcomes when the patient and physician share the same racial/ethnic background. Starting in 2006, the faculty at the Highland EM Residency Program in Oakland, CA, began a diversification initiative to increase the number of underrepresented minority residents. The goal was to closely mirror the US population and match 30% underrepresented minorities with each incoming class. After the initiative, there was a 2-fold increase in the number of underrepresented minority residents (from 12% to 27%). This article is a review of the strategies used to diversify the Highland EM Residency Program. Most components can be applied across emergency medicine programs to increase the number of underrepresented minority residents and potentially improve health outcomes for diverse populations.Copyright © 2019 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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