Value-Based Medical Student Education Training Program

ABSTRACT This project will increase the number and diversity of primary care physicians practicing in Kentucky by engaging learners from underrepresented populations in healthcare, those from medically underserved communities, and members of disadvantaged populations and supporting their choice of a primary care specialty as well as their return to practice in underserved communities upon graduation. Barriers in Kentucky’s K-12 educational outcomes require a longitudinal approach beginning in high school, continuing throughout undergraduate training, and culminating in medical school. This pathway to primary care begins with 1) summer residential enrichment programming for rising high school juniors and seniors, 2) expanded and enhanced undergraduate and postbaccalaureate enrichment programming, and 3) didactic, clinical programming throughout medical school to continually engage learners and promote and incentivize (through scholarships) a choice in primary care residency. The pathway begins with summer enrichment programs for high school juniors and seniors providing academic instruction and educational career development opportunities. At the college level three Pre- Medical Pathways programs enrich students from disadvantaged communities. The Professional Education Preparation Program (PEPP) Scholars is an academic enrichment program for rising college freshman from disadvantaged backgrounds or who identify as members of a racially or ethnically underrepresented group who have an interest in medicine. PEPP-MD is an academic enrichment program with a more focused exposure to medicine for rising college sophomores. It offers a chance to observe, network, and volunteer within the health care setting while gaining further understanding of the profession and requirements for future admission to medical school. UKMED is for rising college juniors and recent college graduates from disadvantaged groups. Learners are exposed to life in medical school through interactions with students and faculty and attend workshops focused on skill development, e.g. interviewing skills and crafting compelling personal statements, as well as discussions on diverse medical topics including sessions focused on Kentucky’s common health conditions. Due to historic success, the UKMD program will be expanded to include more students and to provide an MCAT prep course. For students who have graduated from college, two Postbaccalaureate programs will be implemented. The first is for students who completed a non-pre-medical program and need to complete prerequisites. The second for graduates who completed all prerequisites but did not perform sufficiently well to be a strong applicant for medical training. Students in the former category will enroll in undergraduate prerequisites and those in the latter will participate in graduate coursework. Both groups will also receive additional professional, social, and cultural wrap-around instruction to boost competitiveness. Medical school interventions include a pre-matriculation program to prepare new matriculants for the rigors of the curriculum and make salient the benefits of choosing primary care. Additionally, a Primary Care Scholarly Concentration provides focused coursework for participants that instills a deep understanding of primary care, with the goal of increasing the number of medical graduates who select a primary care residency. Students selected for this cohort will participate in an enhanced community clinical rotation at a rural Teaching Health Center or another site of equal significance. Students will be scaffolded to develop relationships among key community stakeholders that transcend the clinic and embrace the wider community at a socio-cultural level. Finally, this cohort will receive a significant level of scholarship support over their four years of training to offset debt and increase the likelihood of choosing primary care.