WIP 25 - Leaving the ladder down: Effect of a Pathway Program on Alumni Participants’ involvement in Mentorship and Service in Underserved Communities

Poster Number: WIP 25
Publication Number: WIP 25.2378

Background: There is a national shortage of physicians and a lack of workforce diversity in the U.S., especially in underserved areas. Pathway programs also known as “Pipeline programs” provide resources to scholars from diverse backgrounds entering a specific program or area of study, and have been suggested to be a solution to workforce diversity. Pathway programs with strong mentorship are an effective way of promoting underrepresented minority (URM) representation in health care.

Objective: 1. Describe whether graduates of a pathway program within an academic center matriculated into health professional and/or graduate schools, have subsequently engaged as pathway program mentors, and/or currently work in underserved communities.
2. Qualitatively evaluate how Alumni perceive their pathway program participation impacts self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation to be involved in URM mentorship.

Design/Methods: Montefiore Health Opportunities Program (MonteHOP) is a summer enrichment pathway program based in an academic center in an urban setting in New York City, with 15-20 participants per year. In this IRB-approved study, a ~25 item questionnaire adapted from prior cross-sectional studies was emailed between July - September 2023 with electronic consent to a database of 204 MonteHOP alumni who participated in the pathway program from 2002-2019. Descriptive data on alumni demographics, matriculation into health professional and/or graduate schools, prior and/or current involvement in mentorship efforts, and current service in underserved communities were gathered. Participants were invited to a phone interview, to be recorded and transcribed by researchers using Microsoft transcription services between November 2023 - January 2024. Using grounded theory, our team of coders will identify themes and create a study code book for hypothesis generation between February 2024 - March 2024. Analyses and results will be completed by April 1, 2024. Identifiable information will be deleted at the end of the study.