Academic Leadership Academy Summer Program: Clerkship Transition Preparation for Underrepresented in Medicine Medical Students

We describe the design, delivery, and three-year evaluation outcomes of a strengths-based program for UIM second year medical students. The program emphasizes three content areas: clinical presentations/clinical reasoning, community building, and surfacing the hidden curriculum. Students are taught and mentored by faculty, residents, and senior students from UIM backgrounds, creating a supportive space for learning.CONTEXT: The program is offered to all UIM medical students; the centerpiece of the program is an intensive four-day curriculum just before the start of students' second year. Program evaluation with participant focus groups utilized an anti-deficit approach by looking to students as experts in their own learning. During focus groups mid-way through clerkships, students reflected on the program and identified which elements were most helpful to their clerkship transition as well as areas for programmatic improvement.IMPACT: Students valued key clinical skills learning prior to clerkships, anticipatory guidance on the professional landscape, solidarity and learning with other UIM students and faculty, and the creation of a community of peers. Students noted increased confidence, self-efficacy and comfort when starting clerkships.LESSONS LEARNED: There is power in learning in a community connected by shared identities and grounded in the strengths of UIM learners, particularly when discussing aspects of the hidden curriculum in clerkships and sharing specific challen...
Source: Teaching and Learning in Medicine - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Source Type: research