A more diverse workforce helps healthcare professionals learn from one another as otolaryngology expands to include people with differing backgrounds and perspectives.
How Far Women Have Come in Otolaryngology Compensation Parity and What Needs to Happen Next
Women have made progress in leadership roles in our academic societies and training programs, but progress toward equity in otolaryngology has not come quickly enough.
Letter from the Editor: Otolaryngology Must Address Diversity, Gender Bias
Life and medicine are continuously changing at a seemingly accelerating pace. When we attempt to avoid change and cling to the ‘way things were,’ we stop moving forward and growing.
Dana Thompson, MD, Addresses Bias and Diversity in Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology needs more women practitioners and more persons of color.
Letter from the Editor: Why We Are Better When We Are Diverse
Diversity of thought, mind, and body is a key message in June’s issue of ENTtoday.
Response from the editor
Dr. Sims has eloquently identified the value of diversity not only in otolaryngology, but also its contribution to the strength of the U.S. as a nation. Drs. Kuppersmith and Thomas have responded to his editorial indicating steps that the AAO-HNS has taken and is currently taking to increase diversity.
Response from Dr. Sims
My Viewpoint was intended to call attention to a problem and inspire us to act with more alacrity.
Change Is Already Here
We read with great interest Dr. Steven Sim’s recent op-ed, “More of the Same: Why isn’t otolaryngology becoming more diverse?” in ENT Today (Viewpoint, Sept. 2010).
More of the Same: Why isn’t otolaryngology becoming more diverse?
As America grows and evolves, its face necessarily changes. Our country rests solidly on the idea that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should be available to all. Our collective understanding that access to health care and healthy living are essential to that ideal happiness continues to mature. But while the population becomes more diverse and blended, cultural disparities in health care not only persist, they do not appear to be diminishing. Collectively, African-Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans comprise over one-quarter of our population. Yet, in the year 2000, they made up less than 10 percent of the physician workforce. These numbers dwindle even more when we consider surgical subspecialties.
The Female Question: Should more be done to increase the ranks of female otolaryngologists?
Diana C. Ponsky, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology-facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, went to medical school wanting to be a pediatrician. She happened upon otolaryngology “by accident, by scrubbing into a very fascinating cancer case. I was hooked,” she now recalls.