Abstract
Objective
To investigate whether interview travel cost and time differed for urology residency
applicants from medical schools with higher vs lower proportions of students from
groups underrepresented in medicine (URiMs).
Methods
We identified 22 medical schools, 11 with <15% and 11 with >20% URiM students, and
17 “highly ranked” urology residency programs. We contacted the residency programs
and requested interview dates, preferred lodging options, and institution-based cost-savings.
We constructed interview itineraries for 22 hypothetical students (one from each school),
and compared the total cost and time for travel to all 17 interviews. Total travel
time and interview costs for the students at schools with <15% and >20% URiM were
compared, with findings considered statistically significant at P <.05.
Results
Each student was able to attend all 17 interviews. The median total cost was similar
for applicants from schools >20% URiM ($8074.80; range: $7027.60-$13702.59) and <15%
URiM ($8764.60; range: $6698.48-$11966.83; P = .89). The median aggregate travel time for applicants from schools >20% URiM was
176.4 (range: 93.7-246.2) hours and for applicants from schools <15% URiM was 160.5
(range: 128.2-203.9) hours (P = .62).
Conclusion
Financial and temporal costs were similar for applicants from medical schools with
<15% or >20% URiM students. Thus, absolute cost considerations are unlikely to account
for differences in URiM representation in urology. However, the relative impact of
interview costs may be different for URiM students. Effective and durable engagement
of URiM students in urology requires an introspective assessment of objective vs anecdotal
barriers to recruiting and retaining URiM medical students.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 30, 2021
Accepted:
August 19,
2021
Received:
April 6,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
