Psychological and emotional experiences of participants in a medical school, early assurance admissions program targeting students from groups underrepresented in medicine.

BACKGROUND: There are growing number of pathway programs, with an early assurance of admission, that target undergraduate students from groups underrepresented in medicine (URiM) to enable their competitiveness for and matriculation to medical school, including the Penn Access Summer Scholars (PASS) program. The psychological and emotional experiences of students in these programs, however, have not been previously described. METHODS: Students from the summer 2021 cohort of the PASS program were interviewed using a structured set of questions that explored four specific areas: (i) the application process; (ii) the benefits and value of being in the PASS program; (iii) the emotional and psychological challenges and stresses of being in the PASS program; (iv) feelings and emotions about not taking the MCAT or having to interview at multiple schools. The transcribed, de-identified interviews were then subjected to a qualitative analysis. RESULTS: Students in PASS reported that the program was valuable to them in that it reduced the stress of the pre-medical process; relieved worry and anxiety surrounding the MCAT; enabled development of supportive relationships and provided meaningful exposures to the medical profession and biomedical research. Despite this, students reported feelings of imposterism, guilt, and fear of disappointing, along with varying degrees of regret over not taking the MCAT and not interviewing at more than one medical school. CONCLUSIONS: URiM and other marginalized students participating in early assurance admissions programs likely enter medical school with a range of positive and negative emotions as a result of their participation in these programs. These data can be used to inform the development of programing and other initiatives that further support the transition and success of these students in medical school.

Penn Access Summer Scholars program: a mixed method analysis of a virtual offering of a premedical diversity summer enrichment program.

In the USA, numerous summer programs are available for undergraduate students that seek to increase the number of individuals from groups underrepresented in medicine (URM) that matriculate to medical school. These programs have typically been conducted at research-focused institutions, involving hands-on-research and various enrichment experiences. For 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the suspension of on-campus student activities at American universities, necessitating a switch to a virtual format for these URM-focused programs. Outcomes, however, from these programs conducted virtually, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have not been reported. The Penn Access Summer Scholars (PASS) program at the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) targets URM undergraduates, providing two consecutive summers of mentored research and enrichment experiences, with the goal of enabling participants' matriculation to PSOM. PASS has been an 8 week on-campus experience, but during summer 2020, virtual programming of 6 weeks was provided due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in the 2020 virtual offering of PASS completed pre- and post-program surveys that included 5-point Likert-style and open-ended questions to determine the impact of the programing on self-assessments of research skills, familiarity with the physician identity, and preparedness to be a PSOM student. Post-program, participants also assessed program administration and content. With respect to program objectives, participants reported significant increases in their self-reported confidence in conducting research, understanding of physician identity, and sense of preparedness for medical school. The educational value of the program content, their level of engagement in the program and the overall quality of the program were rated as excellent or outstanding by large majorities of respondents. Content analyses of participant comments were consistent with these quantitative results. Therefore, a premedical summer enrichment program targeting URM undergraduates can be successfully conducted virtually to achieve program objectives and may increase the availability to these initiatives.