RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To identify the motivations of adolescent students applying into medical pipeline programs that are focused on populations underrepresented in medicine. METHODS: The Doctors of Tomorrow (DoT) program is a medical pipeline program between the University of Michigan Medical School and Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan, USA. As a component of the application process, ninth-grade students complete multiple free response essays that allow students to articulate their reasons for applying and their goals for participation in the program. Between 2013 and 2019, 323 ninth-grade students applied to DoT and 216 were accepted. The authors qualitatively analyzed all applications using theoretical coding methods to identify common themes discussed by students regarding their motivations for applying. The authors used Dedoose 8.3.17 (Los Angeles, CA) for qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Four main themes emerged after coding and thematic analysis: (1) Career Aspiration, (2) Exposure to the Medical Field, (3) Breadth of Mentorship, and (4) Longitudinal Professional Development. 'Health Disparities in Minority Communities,' a code used when students commented on issues of race, social determinants of health, and health disparities as motivators, was not identified as frequently as the other codes, despite it being a main topic within the pipeline program. CONCLUSIONS: Applicants to medical school pipeline programs articulate similar intrinsic motivations that can be used to inform what drives students to apply. Pipeline programs should consider these intrinsic motivations, while also creating structured activities from which students can learn and gain tangible benefits when designing curricula. While ninth-grade students acknowledge health disparities in minority communities, their current level of personal experience may not lead them to identify these disparities as significant motivators, and pipeline leaders should be aware of this when designing lesson plans concerning these topics.
Asunto(s)
Selección de Profesión , Motivación , Adolescente , Curriculum , Humanos , Grupos Minoritarios , Facultades de MedicinaRESUMEN
Purpose: Diversity at all levels of medical training remains relatively stagnant, despite efforts to address equity in medical schools. Early career-specific mentoring may address barriers to the pursuit of medical education for students underrepresented in medicine (URiM). By surveying a program that engages medical students as drivers of career-specific mentorship for URiM high school students, this study evaluates medical student mentors' experiences mentoring and seeks to develop a mentorship curriculum. Methods: The authors describe a medical student-led pipeline program, which connects medical students with URiM high school students. Medical student mentors participated in focus groups and gave written responses evaluating reasons for involvement, sociocultural attitudes, and skills needed for mentoring. Thematic analysis was applied. Results: Themes that emerged in this analysis include motivation to mentor, skills used to approach the mentoring relationship, and benefits to the mentor. Mentors felt their experiences had a high impact factor, and they employed dynamic discovery. It provided personal reward and a deeper understanding of disparities. Conclusion: Bringing medical school mentors together for peer to peer idea sharing, creating communities of practice, will help these students develop effective mentorship skills. A curriculum based on appreciative inquiry of mentors' strengths will enrich idea sharing, fostering cultural humility and avoiding burnout. Medical students involved in this program believe they gained benefits, including improving their mentorship skills, expanding their cultural humility, increasing their comfort with caring for underserved populations, and improving their ability to recognize health disparities.