Minority enrichment programs at the New Jersey Medical School

Abstract

In 1971 the New Jersey Medical School formed a task force to address the training of physicians from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds, and in 1972 the Students for Medicine Program (SMP) was launched. The program, one of the first of its kind, provided previews of college science courses to help minority students develop their noncognitive skills and make the transition to medical school. The school has also established other minority programs. The programs have been designed to form a health careers pipeline for college-bound students, beginning in the eighth grade. Grade-specific summer experiences, as well as year-round monthly workshops, are offered to all participants. The workshops for pre-college and college students and their parents are designed to strengthen students' academic skills, address issues such as self-esteem, provide exposure to health professions, and increase parents' knowledge and involvement. From 1972 to 1998, there had been 1,722 participants in the pre-college, 1,875 in the college, and 683 in the prematriculation programs, respectively. They were from the inner city, most of them African American, but with a growing number of Hispanics. From 1987 to 1994, 36% of the SMP participants entered health professions schools. In 1996, the medical school created the New Jersey Partnership for Health Professions Education, a collaboration of high schools, universities, community-based organizations, the federal government, and the health professions schools. It works to strengthen the medical school's "pipeline" for underrepresented minority students while eliminating competition among programs for the same students and simultaneously developing a larger pool.

Addressing indigenous health workforce inequities: A literature review exploring 'best' practice for recruitment into tertiary health programmes

“…For example, Chesters et al [35] found that only 18% (26/144) of secondary school advisors or guidance counsellors were able to demonstrate the knowledge required to effectively advise or support indigenous students into health careers. Similar findings are described elsewhere [18,19,27,44,60,64,74,78,83] with Hollow et al [44] noting "when counsellors or teachers "track" minority [or indigenous] students into less rigorous academic courses - intentionally or not - they limit student's academic achievement and inhibit their career aspirations"(p. 4) .…”

“…The literature also discusses the importance of actively including parents, families and indigenous/URM communities in early exposure activities due to their influence on student career choices [13,19,37,60,78,83,90]. This is particularly important as indigenous/URM students are often diverted away from health careers via careers advisors and teachers [18,19].…”

Medical School Anatomy and Pathology Workshops for High School Students Enhance Learning and Provide Inspiration for Careers in Medicine

“…Medical school programs have been described, which encourage and motivate underrepresented minorities and low-income high school/college students to set high standards and help prepare them for careers in the health sciences. 6-11 Other programs have been described, which train high school biology teachers to effectively communicate preclinical medical concepts, so as to stimulate greater interest in the medical and life sciences. 12-14 Although immensely valuable, these community outreach programs are labor-intensive and can, therefore, accommodate only limited numbers of students.…”

Undergraduate Cancer Training Program for Underrepresented Students: Findings from a Minority Institution/Cancer Center Partnership

“…Grumbach et al report that 68% of students attended medical school after participating in a structured post-baccalaureate premedical program offered at five universities in California [4], and Soto-Greene et al report that 36% of students who participated in the Students for Medicine Program entered health professions school [5]. Notably, these previous evaluations report on programs focused on attracting URM students into medical school, not graduate school.…”