Abstract Title: Cultivating Success: Analysis of a Pre-Health Pathway Program for Underrepresented Minority Undergraduates at UCLA

Area of Concentration (Petal): Medical Education

Specialty: none

Keywords: pathway programs, medical education, diversity in medicine

Background:

Pathway programs have been well-documented in successfully increasing the numbers of physicians from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups or disadvantaged backgrounds. To increase the number of students that matriculate into graduate-level health professional programs, it is important to increase retention in the STEM field during students’ undergraduate years through mentorship, peer learning, and professional development.

Objective:

UCLA's High Achievement in Math and Science (High AIMS) is a pathway program that began in 2011 and is administered by the Academic Advancement Program’s (AAP) Office of Graduate Mentoring and Research Programs at UCLA. High AIMS provides academic, career, and mentoring support to students who are underrepresented in medicine or come from disadvantaged backgrounds and have limited access to professional development resources. The program launched ten years ago with a cohort of 10 and over 100 students have completed the program. This study will give us concrete data to improve the program and encourage other institutions to adopt similar programming at their schools.

Results:

Cohort 5 (Class of 2016&17)

Total Students: 10

Graduate Programs:

60% - Medical degree

20%- PhD

10% - PA

10% - MPH

Cohort 7 (Class of 2019&20)

Total Students: 10

Graduate Programs:

70% - Medical Degree

10% - M. Ed

20% - Unknown

Conclusions:

High AIMS has shown evidence of helping retain students in the pre-health pathway. A study is currently underway that will be the first formal evaluation of the program. Our preliminary evidence on two cohorts demonstrated that over 70% of participants eventually enrolled in medical school or other health professional school. This study will give us concrete data to improve the program and encourage other institutions to adopt similar programming at their schools.