Knight Scholars Program: A Tiered Three-Year Mentored Training Program for Urban and Rural High School High School Students Increases Interest and Self-Efficacy in Interprofessional Cancer Research

Abstract

Cancer research training programs build our future biomedical workforce. Training is often centered for students residing close to research institutions, making access more challenging for rural students. A cancer research training program was developed for high school students residing in five geographical regions across Oregon. Training was tiered in duration and intensity across the three years, including a one-week Introduction program and subsequent 10-week summer research training programs (Immersion and Intensive). A total of 60 students participated in in-person and/or virtual training, with Immersion students receiving mentored shadowing experiences in clinical care, public health, and outreach in their home communities. Laboratory rotations at a research-intensive institution enabled students to sample research environments before selecting an area of interest for Intensive training the following summer. Aligning with Self-Determination Theory, the Knight Scholars Program aims to build competence, relatedness, and autonomy of its trainees in biomedical sciences. The program exposed students to a wide range of interprofessional careers and collaborative teams, enabling scholars to envision themselves in various paths. Results show strong gains in interest and research self-efficacy for both Introduction and Immersion scholars, with findings highlighting the importance of representation within mentoring and training efforts.

Interprofessional Near-Peer Mentoring Teams Enhance Cancer Research Training: Sustainable Approaches for Biomedical Workforce Development of Historically Underrepresented Students

“…Peer mentors led projects with trainees, including community research projects, photovoice, and informational interviews. They also helped with program activities such as daily evaluations, creating training web pages, and helping to develop mentor awards (e.g., scholars nominated professionals for excellence in communication categories such as mentoring, teaching, research; Marriott et al, 2022 ). Peer mentor projects also included music playlists that punctuated the day’s sessions, inspired by public health mixtapes of health-equity-related songs (Petteway, 2021).…”

“…The Knight Scholars Program (KSP) was developed at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU; Portland, Oregon), Oregon’s only academic health center and comprehensive cancer center, to train Oregon high school students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in cancer research using approaches that align with the National Cancer Institute’s Youth Enjoy Science initiative ( National Institutes of Health, 2016 ). The program includes a focus on rural students who participate in residential training with urban and frontier students to explore careers in the fields of cancer research, treatment, and prevention ( Marriott et al, 2022 ). Core to the program is its tiered approach across three years that increase in duration and exposure to cancer research ( Figure 1 ), with the first two tiers addressed in this case study.…”

“…External evaluators (OHSU Evaluation Core) facilitated focus groups with program trainees on their last day of the program, with scripts, procedures and full findings described in Marriott and colleagues (2022) . The external evaluation team ran eight focus groups with scholars, including six with Introduction scholars (three focus groups per cohort) and two with Immersion scholars, which captured scholar perceptions upon completion of their respective programs.…”

“…Research learning communities (e.g., laboratory principal investigators and primary staff who were involved with hosting two-day placements of Immersion scholars) were sent an online Qualtrics survey immediately after their scholar hosting experience ( Marriott et al, 2022 ). One question asked “Was having a peer mentor attend your lab rotation helpful?…”

“…Knight Scholars Program staff (n=7) debriefed the summer 2021 program and used Google Jamboard to share comments and suggestions anonymously. Staff comprised faculty, community liaisons, and program coordinators, all of whom are co-authors on the trainee experience paper ( Marriott et al, 2022 ) and played key roles in conceptualizing the program, developing its schedule, and arranging experiences with community and scientist partners. Submitted responses were transcribed and thematically coded to understand impact and potential roles for peer mentors in training programs.…”