Abstract
The numbers and success of minority students in science and the health fields remain relatively low. This study presents the outcomes of a research training program as an illustrative case study. The Short-Term Training Program for Minority Students (STPMS) recruits underrepresented minority undergraduate and graduate students for immersion in research training. A total of 69 students participated in the STPMS between 1995 and 2012, and 59 of these completed our survey to determine the perceived impact of the program on the students' motivations and professional development. Results indicated that motivations to participate in the STPMS were commonly related to long-term professional development, such as obtaining mentoring and guidance in career decision making, rather than gaining specific research skills or for economic reasons. Students reported that participation in short-term research training had the most significant effect on improving their attitudes toward biomedical research and promoted positive attitudes toward future careers in health research. A total of 85% of the program's alumni have since completed or are currently working toward a degree in higher education, and 79% are currently working in science research and health care fields. Overall, the short-term training program improved students' attitudes toward research and health science careers. Mentoring and career guidance were important in promoting academic development in students.
Highlights
Lack of diversity in the sciences and health professions has been identified as an important perpetuator of health disparities and as a pressing challenge to the conduct of medicine.[1,2,3,4] At a time when the gap in health between the races has widened, the number of minority students in biomedical research and medicine continues to be small
Underrepresented minorities (URM) constitute 32% of the general population in the United States,[5] yet in 2012 they made up only 11% of those who graduated from American medical schools.[6]
In this paper we present an evaluation of the Short-Term Research Training Program for Minority Students (STPMS) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a program that provided 3 months of research training to 69 undergraduate and graduate URM students between the years 1995-2012
Summary
Lack of diversity in the sciences and health professions has been identified as an important perpetuator of health disparities and as a pressing challenge to the conduct of medicine.[1,2,3,4] At a time when the gap in health between the races has widened, the number of minority students in biomedical research and medicine continues to be small.
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