Diana Khair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky
Cody C. Blanchard, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky
Kevin K. Wang, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky
Daniel B. Moore, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky

Objective

This article determines the prevalence of physician parents among ophthalmology residency applications.

Design

Retrospective, single-center cohort study.

Subjects

All applicants to the University of Kentucky Ophthalmology Residency between 2018 and 2023.

Methods

Residency applications were reviewed, with data collection including applicant gender, self-identified Under-Represented in Medicine (URiM) status, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 score, USMLE Step 2 score, and whether the application identified a doctor or physician as a parent. Doctor was defined as a profession requiring a doctorate degree, and similarly, physician as a profession requiring a medical degree.

Results

A total of 2,057 applications were reviewed, representing 54% of all match participants during the study period. Fourteen percent (296) of applications indicated a parent was a doctor and 12% (253) a parent was a physician. There were no differences between gender, URiM, USMLE Step 1, and Step 2 scores between applicants indicating a doctor or physician as a parent and those that did not (p all > 0.4 and Cohen's d all 

Conclusion

Physician parents are substantially overrepresented in ophthalmology residency applicants. This raises concerns regarding diversity and inclusion efforts for recruitment in medicine.

Khair, Diana; Blanchard, Cody C.; Wang, Kevin K.; and Moore, Daniel B. (2024) "The Matthew Effect: Prevalence of Doctor and Physician Parents among Ophthalmology Applicants," Journal of Academic Ophthalmology: Vol. 15: Iss. 2, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1777432
Available at: https://www.aupojournal.org/jao/vol15/iss2/13

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