Document Type
Brief Report
Disciplines
Higher Education | Medical Education | Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
Abstract
Background and Objectives:
Medical school leadership demographics have been examined previously, but there has not been a study investigating the educational background of the current Deans of Medicine (DOMs). The purpose of this report is to examine the demographics, as well as the educational and training background, of the current DOMs to determine how medical school leadership can continue to be diversified across various attributes, such as gender and specialty type.
Methods:
The current DOMs at 159 Doctor of Medicine (MD) and 41 Doctor of Osteopathic (DO) programs were identified using medical school websites. Information about the DOM’s background, including pronouns used in biography, years since completion of residency, and specialty type, were collected from school website biographies, US News Health, or LinkedIn.
Results:
71.50% of DOMs have male pronouns in their biography, 28.50% have female pronouns, and none used other pronouns. DOMs completed their residency training an average of 31.83 years ago. The three most common specialties among DOMs at MD programs are internal medicine, general surgery, and pediatrics, while the three most common specialties among DOMs at DO programs are family medicine, internal medicine, and emergency medicine. About 44% of DOMs at MD programs completed a fellowship, as compared to just 7.50% of DOMs at DO programs.
Conclusion:
To further diversify the DOM position, more female DOMs are needed, and MD programs will need to hire more DOMs specializing in family medicine.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.32873/unmc.dc.gmerj.7.1.001
Keywords
characteristics, background, education, training, dean of medicine, deans, medical education
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
McGrath, J. T., Sullivan, C. M., Sharma, D., Fagan, E., , Wei, E. X. Characteristics and Educational Background of Current Deans of Medicine. Graduate Medical Education Research Journal. 2025 Jun 27; 7(1).
https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/gmerj/vol7/iss1/1
