Poster 379: Mentorship and Research Program to Improve Opportunity Among Underrepresented Students Pursuing Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine

Abstract

Objectives: In North America, the orthopaedic specialty has limited diversity with over 80% of orthopaedic surgeons being caucaisan male. Over the last 20 years, many specialty societies have attempted to improve diversity in the specialty, with limited changes over the last 10 years. The purpose of this program was to identify a diverse and under-represented group of potential orthopaedic surgery resident candidates in the last year of college or first 2 years of medical school, and create an educational/mentorship experience that would increase their interest in orthopaedic careers. Methods: Over a 2-year period, we received over 250 applications and selected 17 and 10 students to participate in the summer 2021 and 2022 programs respectively. The program delivered a curriculum from June-August 2021, and 2022 consisting of 1) weekly instructional courses on research-related topics led by a content expert; 2) weekly faculty lectures discussing topics including orthopaedic topics, diversity in medicine, leadership, and work-life balance; and 3) an 8-week summer research experience paired with a faculty and peer mentor. We surveyed students to measure skill progression, satisfaction, and overall program evaluation. Pre/post-program evaluation, mid-program check-in, and student feedback surveys were collected. Results: Program participants represented a range of race and ethnic backgrounds, research experience level, and various geographic locations across the US. The cohort included a high rate of female (48%) and Black (30%) participants. On average, post-program survey scores indicated that participants believed that the summer program improved their research skills (9.4 of 10), improved their orthopaedic interest (9 of 10), and improved mentorship and networking (9.3 of 10). For feedback surveys, respondents (88%) felt they were adequately matched to their faculty mentor. (72% felt they had realistic deliverables for research projects within the 8-week program. 92% indicated they contributed to an abstract or manuscript as a co-author. Over 50% plan to apply to orthopaedic residency. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of building a high-impact remote summer program catered to underrepresented students interested in orthopaedics. Although a remote program has some limitations, it has some advantages, including : 1. allowing for a significant mentorship/research experience, that does not involve the cost/complexity of travel for 2 months, and 2. it allows access to people from a larger geographic area. Our findings indicate that students improved their research skills, interest, and confidence to pursue orthopaedic residency, and mentorship/networks in the field. We plan to longitudinally track program alumni and evaluate the overall impact of this program on the field of orthopaedics. This program is simple – a remote mentoring/research opportunity, that requires a small investment for centers to participate – but would benefit from having more mentors for the students. The large number of student applicants confirms a significant number of students that are interested in this program, and access to more mentors could increase the size and impact of the program. We encourage other centers to develop similar programs to support increased diversity in those that will pursue careers in orthopaedics and sports medicine.