Estelle Gauda, MD (at right), chair of the ATS Minority Trainee Awards Subcommittee, was the guest speaker at the 2011 Diversity Forum, for which Yolanda Mageto, MD, MPH, is the chair.

Estelle Gauda, MD, is a longtime advocate for reducing minority disparities among physicians in medicine. She garnered well-deserved attention for her commitment to diversity issues during the ATS 2011 Diversity Forum on Monday at the Embassy Suites Denver.

Sponsored by the Membership Committee and supported by an educational grant from Merck, the forum focused on career development among minorities and increasing the diversity of healthcare providers and scientists in the fields of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.

Dr. Gauda cautioned the audience that while strides are being made in diversifying the racial and ethnic minority makeup of students at U.S. medical schools, the faculty picture is less rosy.

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, racial and ethnic minority applications are on the rise, and there has been an increase in the number of female racial and ethnic minorities in medical school applications, acceptances and graduates.

“The representation of racial and ethnic minorities among women faculty members remains alarmingly low,” said Dr. Gauda, chair of the ATS Minority Trainee Travel Awards (MTTA) Subcommittee and a professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Dr. Gauda reminded the audience that racially concordant doctor-patient relationships promote more participation and trust among patients.

“As a physician, scientist or educator, you can be part of the solution,” she said, adding that she lives by what she calls the three P’s— “passion, perseverance and partnerships.”

“My goal was to do what I wanted to do at the time and love it,” Dr. Gauda continued. “My happiness brought me my success, and happy people are successful. I suggest that you figure out how to be happy, and everything else will come into play. With each (of the three P’s), you can sleep soundly knowing that you have the formula for success and you will be in a place to make a difference.”

During the lunch, the 2011 ATS MTTA recipients were recognized. Merck has provided educational grant support for the MTTA awards and Diversity Forum for the past 10 years.