Jorge G. Zarate Rodriguez, MD : Resident Physician, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri; Twitter: @jzaraterod; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6790-7729.
Tania Gennell, MD : Resident Physician, Department of Surgery, NYU Langone Hospital - Long Island, Mineola, NY; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0732-4724.
Valeria S. M. Valbuena, MD, MSc : Resident Physician, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; National Clinician Scholars Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7920-8418.
Much like the rest of the world, academic medicine transitioned to a virtual format to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic—but not every aspect of medical training translated well. For example, the majority of visiting student elective rotations were canceled last academic year. Some rotations were adapted to video-based experiences, but the limited faculty interactions during these made it impossible for prospective applicants to ask for recommendation letters. Similarly, many national medical societies opted for virtual conferences instead of in-person meetings. Among the many losses, the invaluable networking benefits of in-person events which allow trainees to interact with leaders in their fields was felt the hardest. While these changes were experienced by all trainees, they affected URM students and residents the most.
Despite representing nearly 20% of the US population, Latinxs make up only 6% of medical students, 4% of residents, and 6% of attending physicians.1,2,3 This profound disparity in representation has been further exacerbated by the pandemic, where Latinx and other URM trainees have been further isolated from peers and potential mentors.
Faced with the daunting task of selecting a new professional home virtually, many Latinx students turned to social media to connect, trade information, and even fundraise for each other. In the microcosm of surgery, where only 4.5% of residents and 3% of faculty identify as Latinx, organizations like the Latino Surgical Society (@LatinoSurgery) have been instrumental to the creation of an online community for trainees.1 Hashtags such as #LatinxsInSurgery have been used to pool a variety of relevant content for topics ranging from application advice to everyday inspiration. Latinx medical students, residents, and even pre-medical students have also begun using social media to build an online, multi-specialty familia.
Social media platforms are powerful venues for unity and connection. We call upon minority physicians of all levels of training and in all branches of academic medicine to capitalize on the immeasurable reach of social media and invest in the establishing of virtual communities. “You cannot be what you cannot see.” Let us all become more visible as a learning community; like, follow, and retweet.
Acknowledgements: None.
Funding/Support: VV is supported by the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation Clinician Scholars Program and the National Institutes of Health (5T32HS000053-29).
Other disclosures: None.
Ethical approval: Not applicable.
Disclaimers: None.
Previous presentations: None
References:
Aggarwal, Adeeti et al. “Is There Color or Sex Behind the Mask and Sterile Blue? Examining Sex and Racial Demographics Within Academic Surgery.” Ann Surg. 2021.
AAMC 2020 Report on Residents Executive Summary. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/students-residents/interactive-data/report-residents/2020/executive-summary (Accessed 5/24/21).
AAMC Diversity in Medicine: Facts and Figures 2019. https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/report/diversity-medicine-facts-and-figures-2019 (Accessed 5/24/21).
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