title: LGBT Trainee and Health Professional Perspectives on Academic Careers--Facilitators and Challenges.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Diversity efforts in the academic medicine workforce have often neglected the identification and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health professionals. Many of these professionals have served as educators, researchers, administrators, and leaders at their academic institutions, but their perspectives on the barriers to and facilitators of pursuing academic careers, as well as the perspectives of trainees, have not been explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  We applied a purposeful convenience sampling strategy to collect quantitative and qualitative data among LGBT health care professionals (HCP) and trainees. The authors identified trends in data using bivariate analyses and consensual qualitative research methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We analyzed data from 252 surveys completed by HCPs and trainees and a subset of 41 individuals participated in 8 focus groups. Among survey participants, 100% identified as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) or queer; 4.5% identified along the trans-spectrum; 31.2% identified as a racial or ethnic minority; 34.1% identified as faculty; and 27.4% as trainees. Eighty-one percent of trainees were interested in academia and 47% of HCPs held faculty appointments. Overall, 79.4% were involved in LGBT-related educational, research, service, or clinical activities. Facilitators of academic careers included engagement in scholarly activities, mentorship, LGBT-specific networking opportunities, personal desire to be visible, campus opportunities for involvement in LGBT activities, and campus climate inclusive of LGBT people. Barriers included poor recognition of LGBT scholarship, a paucity of concordant mentors or LGBT networking opportunities, and hostile or non-inclusive institutional climates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LGBT trainees and HCPs contribute significantly to services, programs, and scholarship focused on LGBT communities. LGBT individuals report a desire for a workplace environment that encourages and supports diversity across sexual orientation and gender identities. Institutional policies and programming that facilitate LGBT inclusion and visibility in academia may lead to greater faculty work satisfaction and productivity, higher retention and supportive role modeling and mentoring for the health professions pipeline.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medicine, Weill-Cornell College of Medicine , New York, New York.
authors.forename: Nelson F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Higher Education, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rankin
authors.affiliation: 3 School of Medicine, University of California , Davis, Sacramento, California.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Callahan
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine , Cleveland, Ohio.
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: 5 University of Michigan Medical School , Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Louisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holaday
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Educational Policy Studies and Practice, University of Arizona , Tucson, Arizona.
authors.forename: Kadian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.affiliation: 7 Department of Human Capital Initiatives, Association of American Medical Colleges , Washington, D.C.
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Poll-Hunter
authors.affiliation: 8 Department of Emergency Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School , Newark, New Jersey.
authors.forename: John Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008611:Mentors; D019529:Sexuality; D012931:Social Environment; D063106:Transgender Persons; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008297:Male; D005260:Female
keywords: academic medicine; gender identity; health care professionals; public policy and advocacy; sexual orientation