Purpose: Investigate the benefits of an 8-week summer internship program for Underrepresented in Medicine (URM) Students
Background: Nationwide, racial minority populations are growing, yet are underrepresented in medicine. Evidence shows URM physicians are more likely to practice in underserved areas and increase students’ preparedness to care for diverse patients. Undergraduate URMs face steep challenges due to limited resources, mentorship, and career-specific opportunities. University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Northern Kaiser Permanente created the Undergraduate Research Internship (URI). We evaluated this program aimed at supporting and uplifting URM students through opportunities in health professions.
Methods: URI engages 16 undergraduate interns annually. The curriculum includes 20 hours of research, shadowing, didactics, leadership training, and mentorship each week. Participants completed pre and post questionnaires to investigate student experience, tracked annually and longitudinally, to determine professional outcomes.
Results: 170 participants enrolled between 2009-2019: 48.7% Hispanic, 20.4% Asian, 12.5% Black, 7.2% Pacific Islander, 5.9% biracial, 4.0% White, and 1.3% other. Prior to URI, experiences of students of 2014-2019 included: 27.6% research and 13.8% pre-medical advising. URI curriculum provided 100% of these experiences. Overall, 44% of URI alumnae have pursued post-graduate degrees: 35 in medical school, 20 in residency, 2 in fellowships, 2 practicing MDs, 9 with Masters’ degrees, 2 in Masters’ program, 2 in nursing school, and 4 nurse practitioners.
Discussions: The URI program had a significant impact in increasing students’ preparation for medical careers. Many URI graduates successfully gained admissions into medical schools, masters programs, and employment in health care. URI graduates increase the diversity of health care providers.
Topics: CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2022, Student, Resident, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Clerkship Coordinator, Osteopathic Faculty, Residency Director, Residency Coordinator, Professionalism, Systems-Based Practice & Improvement, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, UME, Lecture, Team-Based Learning,
Katherine Chan, BA, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine; Patricia Robertson, MD; Juan Guerra, MD; Andrea Jackson, MD, MAS; Jeannette Lager, MD
