Minority Medical Students Research Articles

Minority Medical Students Invited To Apply for IPS Scholarship

Minority Medical Students Invited To Apply for IPS Scholarship

STUDENTJAMA. Cultural competence training in US medical schools.

CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS OF ILLNESS HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO influence health-seeking behaviors, patient-physician communication, and health outcomes. Recent changes in US demographics have underscored the demand for cultural awareness in clinical settings, as the current minority population in the United States is projected to exceed 50% by 2056. The percentage of minority physicians and medical students, however, has not been increasing proportionately. Medical schools have responded in part with 2 broad strategies: cultural immersion programs and cultural competence curricula. The former typically include either a clinical rotation in another country or a more local experience with native communities. In 2002, 38% of US medical students participated in international electives, compared with 6% in 1982. By contrast, cultural competence curricula use case-based, small-group formats to explore the core cultural issues and health beliefs of various ethnic groups, complementary and alternative medicine, language barriers, substance abuse, racism, and cross-cultural interviewing skills. Such curricula also include role play, panel discussions with patient advocates and interpreters, and simulated encounters. As of 2000, 87% of US medical schools addressed cultural competence in 3 or fewer lectures during the preclinical years, and 8% of schools offered separate courses on the topic. This compares with only 13% that included any such material in 1991. Students who participated in cross-cultural exchanges, particularly international rotations, reported that they had gained improved cultural sensitivity, communication skills, appreciation for public health, and respect for cultural differences. Preclinical medical students in a 2001 program that fused domestic and international immersion experiences, including domestic community service, didactic seminars on cultural issues, a 6-week foreign language program abroad, and interaction with local minority families reported increased knowledge of local cultures and greater ease with patients of other cultures. Because these findings are based on self-reported data, however, it is not clear whether they accurately reflect students’ actual knowledge and abilities. No studies have reported lack of impact or negative effects of immersion programs, although negative findings may be subject to publication bias. Reports documenting the outcomes of intramural cultural competence training are scarce and inconsistent. We searched MEDLINE and PubMed databases for articles reporting outcome data for cultural competence training using key words such as cross-cultural education, cultural competence, medical education, multicultural curriculum development, and outcomes. This yielded 2 articles, neither of which used objective measures of learning or behavior. Crandall et al described the outcomes of a year-long, 20session course for second-year medical students to promote knowledge of culture and diversity. Postcourse surveys showed increases in students’ estimates of their proficiency in cross-cultural skills. For instance, participants reported a greater awareness of patients’ cultural sensibilities, alternative therapies, and cultural cues during interviews and physical examinations as well as increased skill in interacting with interpreters. The study’s limitations, such as the small number of students participating in the course, possible selection bias in the volunteer group, and potential biases inherent in self-reported data, again require cautious interpretation of the results. Beagan reported a lack of impact on firstand secondyear medical students following a 2-year course that focused on cultural and social issues such as medical ethics, health policy, and population health. In this case, student questionnaire responses indicated a failure to recognize the impact of these issues and the effects of race, class, sex, culture, and sexual orientation on health care. Similar to the previous study, the limitations of this study include a crosssectional design that did not guarantee comparable cohorts of students before the course began, self-reported data that may have been skewed or inaccurate, and course content that did not foster specific cross-cultural skills but that was rather an amalgam of preexisting courses displaced by curricular change.

Attitudes and Opinions of Under-represented Minority Medical Students Regarding Emergency Medicine as a Potential Future Career Choice

Attitudes and Opinions of Under-represented Minority Medical Students Regarding Emergency Medicine as a Potential Future Career Choice

Applicants Sought for 2004 Minority Medical Student Scholarship

Applicants Sought for 2004 Minority Medical Student Scholarship

Applicants Sought for Minority Medical Student Scholarship

Applicants Sought for Minority Medical Student Scholarship

Minority Medical Students Invited to Apply for New APA Fellowship

Minority Medical Students Invited to Apply for New APA Fellowship

Effects of Perceptions and Mentorship on Pursuing a Career in Academic Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology

To understand the perceptions of residents and Fellows in obstetrics and gynecology about the impacts of race or ethnicity, gender, and mentorship experiences on pursuing careers in academic medicine. Two surveys were administered: one to a sample of 2,000 Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and one to the 4,814 obstetrics and gynecology residents taking the 1998 in-training examination. The questionnaires asked about demographics, perceptions about careers in academic medicine, and residents' experiences with mentorship. Response rates were 96.8% for residents and 40.6% for FELLOWS: Of the residents, 26.1% indicated they would not consider a career in academic medicine. First-year women residents were more inclined to pursue careers in academic medicine than were first-year men (p =.042), but their interest declined during residency. Women residents (43%)-especially minorities-felt that men were mentored and recruited more for faculty positions, while men (38%) felt that women were mentored and recruited more. Fellows' reports of recruitment did not differ by gender. Most white residents did not perceive racial or ethnic bias in mentoring or recruiting, while most non-white residents did. Almost one third of non-white women residents felt that supervisors were more likely to condescend to women and minority individuals. It is likely that neither men nor women residents in obstetrics and gynecology receive adequate mentorship for careers in academic medicine. Perceptions of bias are a serious barrier to developing racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in leadership positions.

Do Underrepresented Minority Medical Students Differ From Nonminority Students in Problem-Solving Ability?

Background: In medical education, examinations must assess a logical progression toward problem-solving skills. Differences in cognitive development between underrepresented minority students (URMs) and non-URMs may affect examination performance and subsequent attrition rates. Purpose: The authors investigated URM and non-URM performances by retrospectively analyzing success rates on exam items of differing cognitive demand. Method: Mean correct responses to exam items classified as Recall, Interpretation, or Problem-Solving questions were calculated. Both URM and non-URM groups were stratified by grade point average (GPA) and scores on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Differences were investigated with analysis of variance and general linear models. Results: For all students, performance levels decreased as the cognitive demands of the exam items increased. When stratified by GPA and MCAT score, several important differences were found between URM and non-URM performance. Conclusions: Because cognitive measures fail to account for the majority of performance differences, noncognitive attributes must contribute to the poorer performance of URMs.

The effects of differently weighting interview scores on the admission of underrepresented minority medical students.

Seeking to admit medical students who will later practice medicine in underserved areas, but faced with the national debate over affirmative action programs, the authors evaluate the effects that giving different weightings to academic and interview scores have upon the acceptance or rejection of certain applicants. The authors reviewed the admission records of 439 applicants to Texas A&M University College of Medicine in 1996-97. They compared the applicants actually admitted (accepted under a formula that equally weighted the two scores) with applicants who would have been admitted if the formula had weighted the interview scores at either 60% or 70% and the academic scores at either 40% or 30%. Weighting the academic score at 40% and the interview score at 60% produced little change in the make-up of the admissions. Weighting the academic score at 30% and the interview score at 70%, however, would have resulted in offers of acceptance to three additional underrepresented minority applicants, two of whom were disadvantaged students. Readjusting the weights of the criteria by which applicants are offered admission to medical schools may help meet the goal of educating doctors who will practice in underserved communities. More research must be done to explore other adjustments to admission criteria.

The effects of differently weighting interview scores on the admission of underrepresented minority medical students

PURPOSE: Seeking to admit medical students who will later practice medicine in underserved areas, but faced with the national debate over affirmative action programs, the authors evaluate the effects that giving different weightings to academic and interview scores have upon the acceptance or rejection of certain applicants. METHOD: The authors reviewed the admission records of 439 applicants to Texas A&M University College of Medicine in 1996-97. They compared the applicants actually admitted (accepted under a formula that equally weighted the two scores) with applicants who would have been admitted if the formula had weighted the interview scores at either 60% or 70% and the academic scores at either 40% or 30%. RESULTS: Weighting the academic score at 40% and the interview score at 60% produced little change in the make-up of the admissions. Weighting the academic score at 30% and the interview score at 70%, however, would have resulted in offers of acceptance to three additional underrepresented minority applicants, two of whom were disadvantaged students. CONCLUSION: Readjusting the weights of the criteria by which applicants are offered admission to medical schools may help meet the goal of educating doctors who will practice in underserved communities. More research must be done to explore other adjustments to admission criteria.

Extending the pipeline for minority physicians: a comprehensive program for minority faculty development.

Medical schools must become more successful in training minority faculty. Minority faculty development programs at schools of medicine must involve trainees from the undergraduate years (if not before) through junior faculty and must involve MD and combine-degree (MD-PhD) students. The authors describe the comprehensive minority faculty development program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, which involves minority undergraduates, medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty. This program provides the administrative staff and research methodologists to assist trainees at all levels across all departments in the school of medicine. The principal student recruitment program is the undergraduate premedicine enrichment program. The medical student component provides general counseling, research development, and activities to enhance performance in the clinical courses. The components for advanced trainees (residents, fellows, and postdoctoral trainees) and faculty consist of training in research methods, mentoring, teaching skills, and scientific writing skills. Through this program, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has increased the number of under-represented minority faculty by 32% since 1993-94 and created an environment conducive to the professional growth and development of minority faculty.

Recruiting ethnic minority medical students

EDITOR,—McManus and colleagues suggest that the potential for racial discrimination in recruitment to medical schools would be reduced if application forms were rendered anonymous.1 Such approaches can easily become open to ridicule. By the time that the applicant's name, address, birth date, and place of education have been left off the application form—to address the risks of discrimination on grounds of race, sex, age, religion, and …

Increasing the Pool of Minority Providers

The University of Arkansas has trained African-American medical students for 46 years. Today the school continues to place a high premium on recruiting and retaining minority medical students. Recruitment efforts involve comprehensive programs to target junior high schools in African-American communities throughout Arkansas, and initiatives to attract African-American faculty and residents. Through such retention-oriented activities as lenient first-year grade requirements, study groups, and a board-preparation course, African-American students have scored above the national average on Part I of the National Medical Board Examination despite matriculating in medical school with below-average scores on the Medical College Admission Test.

Relationship between Locus of Control and Performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners, Part I, among Black Medical Students

Several investigators have recently suggested that nonacademic factors may be particularly important in the performance of minority medical students. This study examined the relationship between the personality variable of locus of control and black medical students' performance on the National Board of Medical Examiners I. Subjects included 50 third- and fourth-year medical students of African-American, Caribbean, and African backgrounds from 4 medical schools. An internal locus of control was correlated with test performance, whereas the more traditional index of the Medical College Admissions Test was not. Implications of these results for the preparation, admission, and training of black medical students are discussed.

Society of General Internal Medicine Symposium The Duke Minority Medical Student Summer Fellowship: One Program's Attempt to Attract Minority Residents

Despite numerous Federal and private funding programs aimed at increasing the numbers of underrepresented minorities in medicine, the participation of minority groups in the medical profession remains low and shows little sign of improvement. With the goal of improving minority representation in our primary care residency program, the Minority Medical Student Summer Fellowship started in July 1990. The program's purpose is to give minority medical students positive exposure to primary care and attract them back for residency training. In this four-week elective, students participate in seminars with our primary care residents, see patients in a variety of clinics, and complete a project. Key implementation issues include support of the medicine chairman and dean, funding, and malpractice coverage for the students. Program evaluation from the first two students rated the clinic experiences higher than the seminar sessions and the independent project. Both students stated our fellowship made them more likely to train at this medical center should they enter a primary care program. Implications for other programs are listed.

Psychosocial assets and mental health of minority medical students

In this study, black, white, and Hispanic medical students are compared in terms of their psychosocial assets and mental health status when they entered medical school and after a year of medical training. The data show that the minority students entered medical school with some distinct advantages over the white students. The minority students reported greater social supports, higher self-esteem, lower anxiety, and more internal locus of control. After one year, however, the blacks manifested slightly lower self-esteem and higher levels of hostility and external locus of control. The Hispanics continued to report higher self-esteem and greater social supports but showed increased external locus of control and higher alcohol consumption. Policy implications for improvements in pre-entrance enrichment programs are discussed.

Restructuring Education and Its Impact on Medical Education

The United States has an education deficit that in the long term may be more harmful to the country than the serious budget and trade deficits. U.S. students are far less prepared in mathematics, chemistry, and physics than are their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan. The dropout rate among high school students, and the high and increasing rate of functional illiteracy, blight lives and represent an enormous economic loss to the nation. American education must be restructured at all levels so that local and federal funds can be used flexibly to pursue revised educational goals. Students and their families should be allowed to choose their elementary and secondary schools, and school management should be decentralized and more rooted in the community. The medical profession must become involved in elementary and secondary education, and medical faculty must be involved in their communities. Further, medical faculty must encourage minority students at all educational levels, must recruit minority medical students, and must increase the number of minority faculty members.

Predicting minority studentsʼ success in medical school

Despite recent attention to minority student recruitment and retention, data on predicting the success of minority medical students are scarce. Traditional predictors (college grades and scores on the Medical College Admission Test) have modest correlations with medical school grades and scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners examination for minority students. Nonetheless, admission committees also consider nontraditional variables when selecting minority students. Measures of nontraditional variables seem to assess types of intelligence not covered by traditional means. A system of organizing nontraditional or noncognitive variables into eight dimensions is proposed. The dimensions are self-concept, realistic, self-appraisal, understanding and dealing with racism, long-range goals, having a strong support person, showing leadership, having community involvement, and nontraditional knowledge acquired. Further, assessment should place more emphasis on recognizing and defining problems and on performance rather than knowledge. Combining traditional and nontraditional methods is best in selecting minority students, and sufficiently well developed measures exist in each area to make this a practical recommendation for any admission program.

Increasing the graduation rates of minority medical students.

The University of Illinois College of Medicine has operated a program since 1969 to recruit minority students into the college and to increase the graduation rates of these students once they enroll. Known as the Medical Opportunities Program (MOP) until 1978, the program was expanded in 1978 and renamed the Urban Health Program (UHP). The authors of the present paper discuss the results of these programs, particularly the effect of granting minority students delays in completing graduation requirements. The MOP (1969 through 1978) increased graduation rates for minority students from 55 percent for those who graduated on time to 81 percent for both on-time and delayed graduates. Under the first seven years of the UHP (1979 through 1985), more minority students have been offered places, and more have enrolled than in the 10 years of the MOP. The retention rate under the UHP, if it holds, will be higher than that under the MOP. For the combined MOP-UHP period, the retention rate for minority students was 88 percent; 69.8 percent of the graduates were on time, and 30.2 were delayed.

Impact of an Intervention Program on Minority Medical Students' National Board Part I Performance

Impact of an Intervention Program on Minority Medical Students' National Board Part I Performance