Assessing Familiarity and Interest in Dermatology Among Underrepresented Minority Pre-medical Students Following an Introductory Lecture

Abstract

Dermatology is the second least diverse specialty in medicine. This may be due in part to limited early exposure and the lack of familiarity among minority pre-medical and medical students. Our study evaluated an intervention where 62 pre-medical students attended a virtual dermatology seminar on May 6, 2022. The seminar introduced dermatology, highlighted key leaders of color, and provided an opportunity for questions and responses. Surveys assessing familiarity with and interest in dermatology were administered before and after the seminar. Data was stored in Qualtrics (Provo, UT) and analyzed using RStudio (Posit PBC, Boston, MA), with a response rate of 89% (n=55). In the pre-survey, 20 students (32%) reported being familiar/very familiar with dermatology, compared to 47 students (85%) in the post-survey (P-value<0.001). Additionally, 26% (n=16) of students reported being likely to consider dermatology as a profession in the pre-survey versus the post-survey. These results suggest that targeted early-career interventions, such as this seminar, can increase familiarity and interest in dermatology among underrepresented in medicine (UIM) students, potentially contributing to greater diversity in the field.