Current challenges to affirmative action policies are cause for concern for medical schools that employ holistic admissions processes, which consider an applicant’s race, ethnicity, gender, status as ...a first-generation college student, educational and socioeconomic status, geographical location, past experiences with minority and underserved populations, social capital, and immigration status. Students from minority and underserved communities bring with them experiences and perspectives that may enhance the care they provide to underserved patients, improving patient outcomes. Student body diversity is also associated with increases in students’ academic performance, retention, community engagement, cooperation, and openness to different ideas and perspectives, and institutions that foster diversity tend to be nurturing places where all students and faculty can thrive.The use of race as a factor in admissions has been upheld in three Supreme Court decisions. Yet, the Supreme Court likely will rule again on this issue. In the meantime, medical schools must maintain or increase support for science, technology, engineering, and math academic enrichment programs at all levels, stay informed about their institutional climate, and support a holistic admissions process that considers race and socioeconomic status. Doing so will help disadvantaged students overcome the intergenerational barriers created by race, ethnicity, and poverty and help grow a culturally competent health care workforce, which is essential to improving individual and population health and narrowing racial and ethnic health disparities.
The purpose of this study was to identify performance measures of racially underrepresented minority (RUM) Ph.D. trainees who needed additional training initiatives to assist with completing the UAMS ...biomedical science degree. A sample of 37 trainees in the 10-year NIH-NIGMS funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) were examined. Descriptive statistics and correlations examined process measures (GRE scores, GPAs, etc.) and outcome measures (time-to-degree, publications, post-doctoral fellowship, etc.) While differences were found, there were no statistically significant differences between how these two groups (Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately White Institutions (PWIs)) of students performed over time as Ph.D. students. Graduates who scored lower on the verbal section of the GRE also had a higher final graduate school grade point average in graduates who received their undergraduate training from HBCUs. Of the graduates who received their undergraduate training from PWIs, graduates who scored lower on the quantitative section of the GRE had higher numbers of publications. These findings stimulate the need to 1) reduce reliance on the use of the GRE in admission committee decisions, 2) identify psychometrically valid indicators that tailored to assess outcome variables that are relevant to the careers of biomedical scientists, and 3) ensure the effective use of the tools in making admission decisions.
In August 2018, New York University (NYU) announced it will offer full-tuition scholarships to all current and future students in its MD degree program, regardless of need or merit. The primary goals ...of this approach by NYU are the reduction of a continually increasing student debt, an increase in the number of students who choose primary care specialties, and an increase in socioeconomic diversity of the student body. The general consensus is that ever-increasing medical school debt is one of multiple variables that influence the specialty choice of many medical students and also creates a potential barrier for many students from marginalized and disadvantaged populations who might pursue a career in medicine. According to information from the Association of American Medical Colleges, in 2017, the median educational debt for graduates from both public and private medical school was $192,000.
Introduction Diversity can enhance the agenda and quality of biomedical research, but a dearth of underrepresented minorities and women serve as biomedical researchers. The study purpose was to ...examine the impact of the a summer undergraduate research program on self-efficacy in research, scientific communication, and leadership as well as scientific identity, valuing objectives of the scientific community, and intent to pursue a biomedical research career. Methods Underrepresented minority and female undergraduate students participated in a mentored research experience in a rural, low-income state. Results Students' self-efficacy in research, scientific communication, and leadership as well as scientific identity, valuing objectives of the scientific community, and intent to pursue a biomedical research career increased post-program compared to pre-program. Conclusion This study supports implementation of a biomedical summer undergraduate research program for URM and women in a poor, rural, settings.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) aims to increase diversity in research and health-related careers. The SURP provides ...underrepresented minority (URM) and disadvantaged students with research, mentoring, and networking experiences; real-life surgical observations; and simulated cardiovascular demonstrations. A postprogram survey was developed to assess program outcomes and explore ways of improving the program to stimulate URM and disadvantaged students' interest in research and health-related careers. This is a report of those postprogram survey findings. Using a survey research design, an online survey was emailed to participants (n = 88). Data were collected for 6 weeks beginning March 2020. There were 37 multiple-choice and open-ended questions regarding education, career choices, and program experiences. Responses were downloaded to statistical software for analyses. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Major themes were identified for qualitative data. Responses were received from 44.3% (n = 39) of former SURP participants. Overall, 59% stated that the SURP influenced their career goals. When asked about mentor-mentee relationships, 69.3% responded that their interactions were excellent or good; 61.5% maintained contact with their mentor after the SURP. Finally, 79% indicated their SURP experience was excellent or good, and 84.6% would recommend the SURP to others. The SURP has been successful at providing URM and disadvantaged students with positive research experiences and long-term mentor-mentee relationships and has influenced educational and/or career goals. Programs that expose URM and disadvantaged students to basic, clinical, and/or translational research are beneficial for stimulating interest in research and health-related careers.
Dating back to the purchase of the first African slaves America has struggled with and failed to attain its ideal goal of racial, economic and social equity. Today, much of what we are as a society ...can be attributed to a binary system that was created and continues to exists along racial lines. This manuscript is a brief overview of post-reconstruction America and the events leading up to the civil rights era and passage of the Civil Right Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The author briefly examines America's past as it relates to the fundamental issue of human rights and the continued suppression and marginalization of targeted populations. The current level of police and civilian aggression towards people of color, the increasing number of states adopting legislation aimed at voter suppression and the recent siege of the Nation's capital by insurrectionists are alarming events and suggest the growing danger and possibility of a return to post-reconstruction America. If we are to reverse this trend we must first acknowledge and accept our transgressions and flaws, engage in self-examination and intentionally commit to change. America is only as good as the sum of its parts.
The recent series of very senseless shootings of both African American males and police officers are chilling visual demonstrations of the current degree of racial tension and social unrest in the ...United States. Stricter gun control laws are critically important but only part of the issue. Basic human and civil rights are at the heart of the issue. We must move toward a society in which individuals from varied backgrounds are valued, respected, and included. We must all accept the fact that we are all human beings and very much alike. This will require a national effort very similar to the Highway Beautification Act of 1965. We must adopt and implement policies that will specifically address multiple issues (discrimination, racism, marginalization, exclusion, implicit bias, and the lack of economic mobility) serving as drivers of our current social state. A key component should be increased investment in the educational system (starting in primary school) resulting in an increased college graduation rate and the development of curricula on race and racism and supporting cultural sensitivity and implicit bias training from kindergarten through professional schools.
Objective
To compare parental reports of recent diagnoses of anxiety, depression, and/or behavioral/conduct disorder among former preterm (PT) and term adolescents by race/ethnicity and evaluate ...receipt of mental healthcare within the past year among those adolescents with any of these conditions.
Study Design
A total of 20,871 Non-Hispanic white (NHW), Non-Hispanic black (NHB), and Hispanic adolescents were evaluated using data from the 2017/2018 National Survey of Children’s Health. PT birth and race/ethnicity disparity in the diagnosis of these emotional/behavioral problems and receipt of mental healthcare among adolescents with any of these diagnoses were analyzed using logistic regression.
Results
The unadjusted prevalence (95% CI) of these diagnoses was significantly higher among former PT (0.19 0.17–0.22) compared to term (0.15 0.14–0.16) adolescents. Despite having higher rates of adverse socioeconomic measures, former PT and term NHBs and Hispanics had lower unadjusted prevalence of these diagnoses in comparison to NHWs. After adjusting for differences in demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic characteristics, NHBs (0.47 0.36–0.64) and Hispanics (0.40 0.30–0.54) remain at lower odds of the composite measure of the emotional and/or behavioral problems compared to NHWs, while PT birth did not have a significant impact on this outcome measure. Only 53% of adolescents with these diagnoses received recent mental healthcare. No significant differences in the adjusted odds of receipt of mental healthcare were noted across the groups based on PT birth or race/ethnicity.
Conclusions
In contrast to PT birth, race/ethnicity had a significant impact on the adjusted odds of emotional/behavioral disorders during adolescence. Among adolescents with these diagnoses, PT birth and race/ethnicity did not significantly influence the adjusted odds of receipt of mental healthcare.
Precision public health requires research that supports innovative systems and health delivery approaches, programs, and policies that are part of this vision. This study estimated the effects of ...health insurance mandate (HiM) variations and the effects of physician utilization on moderating colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates. A time-series analysis using a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) approach was conducted on CRC screenings (1997–2014) using a multivariate logistic framework. Key variables of interest were HiM, CRC screening status, and physician utilization. The adjusted average marginal effects from the DDD model indicate that physician utilization increased the probability of being “up-to-date” vs. non-compliance by 9.9% points (p = 0.007), suggesting that an estimated 8.85 million additional age-eligible persons would receive a CRC screening with HiM and routine physician visits. Routine physician visits and mandates that lower out-of-pocket expenses constitute an effective approach to increasing CRC screenings for persons ready to take advantage of such policies.
•Routine physician visits and health insurance mandates that reduce out-of-pocket expenses represent an effective approach to increase colorectal cancer screenings.•Such policies have historically been used to improve health outcomes, and as public health strategies, they are currently being used to increase preventive health services and, in turn, to improve the nation's health.•Future research examining mandates that lower out-of-pocket costs should continue post-election to inform policymakers.
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