Problem Racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes remain pervasive in the US health care system. Increasing the diversity of the physician workforce is recognized as an important component of addressing these disparities. Holistic review, which gives balanced consideration to applicants’ academic metrics, experiences, and attributes, has gained popularity in undergraduate medical education and led to improvement in student diversity. Limited research has investigated how holistic review and other strategies can be implemented in graduate medical education to enhance diversity.

Approach The internal medicine (IM) residency program of the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Medical School implemented a pilot intervention in academic years (AY) 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 aimed at increasing the number of matriculating residents who are underrepresented in medicine (URM). The intervention included (1) using holistic review in the process of selecting applicants for interview,(2) standardizing the interview encounters, and (3) explicitly highlighting the program’s commitment to diversity on interview days.