Mentoring Minority Cancer Researchers of Tomorrow: Comparison of the Face-to-Face, Virtual, and Hybrid Training Methods of the CaRE2 Summer Cancer Research Education and Training Program.

In our previous publication, we reported a framework to develop an undergraduate cancer research training program at Florida A&M University (FAMU) under the umbrella of the Florida-California Cancer Research, Education, and Engagement (CaRE2) Health Equity Center activity by harnessing the resources available at FAMU, the University of Florida (UF), and the University of Southern California (USC) Cancer Centers. The implementation of the CaRE2 face-to-face training platform was dramatically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during the summer of 2020 and 2021 training periods. However, a concerted effort was made to restructure the face-to-face training model into virtual and hybrid training methods to maintain the continuity of the program during the pandemic. This article compared the three methods to identify the best platform for training URM students in cancer disparity research. The program's effectiveness was measured through motivation, experiences, and knowledge gained by trainees during and one year after the completion of the program. The results showed that the participants were highly positive in their feedback about the professional and academic values of the program. Although the virtual and hybrid methods experienced significant challenges during the pandemic, the hybrid training module offered an "above average" effectiveness in performance, like the face-to-face mentoring platform in mentoring URM students in cancer disparity research.

Evaluating the Importance of Mentoring in Undergraduate Research Education Programs.

The National Institute of Health R25 Research Education Program was evaluated in the second year of implementation. Twelve mentors and 20 underrepresented minority students (URMs) scholars from partnerships and collaborations among five colleges and universities were added to the program to provide a more diverse research experience. Findings reveal that 100% of research mentors agree that the approachableness and accessibility of the program coordinator were beneficial in achieving mentorship goals and objectives. In addition, 85% of the students strongly agreed that the presentation of their research findings and the weekly reflection on goals, identification of accomplishments, and obstacles through the individual development plan were very effective. Of the 23 successfully tracked students for 2 years, six URMs (26.09%) obtained a bachelor's degree and were admitted into a graduate program; two were directly admitted to a PhD program in biomedical sciences.

A dual approach to addressing gaps in scholar diversity in aging research.

The number of people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the United States is steadily increasing, with minoritized populations having a disproportionate burden of disease. One strategy to address the racial and ethnic disparities in aging is to diversify scholars in the field of aging, to increase dynamic solution development and create cultural congruence among researchers and participants. The National Institute on Aging has a committed effort to increase and diversify the number of scientists who conduct aging and ADRD research, placing a call for Centers to focus on this effort. In response to the National Institute on Aging call, the Carolina Center for Alzheimer's Disease and Minority Research, housed at the University of South Carolina, proposed a dual approach to addressing these gaps through a joint national conference and mentorship program for underrepresented minoritized faculty. After one year of the program, the participating scholars were surveyed, and successes and growth points of the program were identified to help guide the improvement of this dual approach to addressing gaps in scholar diversity in aging research.

Increasing STEM Skills, Knowledge and Interest Among Diverse Students: Results from an Intensive Summer Research Program at the University of California, San Francisco.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the UCSF Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) in enhancing research-related skills, academic outcomes, and post-baccalaureate aspirations of underrepresented minority (URM) and non-URM undergraduate students in biomedical sciences and STEM fields. The SSRP, spanning 9 weeks, provides immersive research experiences, structured mentorship, trainings, seminars, and STEM education. Pre- and post-program survey data from eight cohorts (N = 315) were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests, MANOVA, and content analysis. Results demonstrate significant gains in critical thinking skills, research abilities, science identity, applied science skills, and readiness for a research career. Notably, participants exhibited improvements in understanding the research process, scientific thinking, science writing, and problem-solving. URM and non-URM students experienced similar gains, highlighting the program's inclusivity. The SSRP also positively influenced students' postgraduate aspirations. Some participants expressed heightened interest in pursuing Master of Arts, Ph.D., and M.D. degrees, indicating increased clarity and motivation towards advanced education and research careers. Furthermore, 87% of participants expressed a high likelihood of engaging in future research endeavors, underscoring the program's sustained impact on research interest. This study underscores the transformative potential of a well-structured, intensive summer research program in significantly enhancing academic outcomes for URM and non-URM students alike. These findings align with the persistence framework, emphasizing the importance of early research experiences, active learning, and learning communities in fostering student success. The SSRP's effectiveness in improving research skills and post-baccalaureate aspirations suggests its potential in diversifying the STEM fields, biomedical sciences and health-related professions.

Predictors of applicant pool racial and ethnic diversity among physician assistant education programs: a national cross-sectional cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated that the increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the US population benefits from access to healthcare providers from similarly diverse backgrounds. Physician assistant (PA) education programs have striven to increase the diversity of the profession, which is predominantly non-Hispanic white, by focusing on admitting students from historically excluded populations. However, strategies such as holistic admissions are predicated on the existence of racially and ethnically diverse applicant pools. While studies have examined correlates of matriculation into a medical education program, this study looks earlier in the pipeline and investigates whether applicant - not matriculant - pool diversity varies among PA programs with different characteristics. METHODS: Data were drawn from the 2017-2018 Central Application Service for PAs admissions cycle. Applications to programs with pre-professional tracks and applicants missing race/ethnicity data were excluded, resulting in data from 26,600 individuals who applied to 189 PA programs. We summarized the racial and ethnic diversity of each program's applicant pools using: [1]the proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) students, [2]the proportion of students with backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URiM), and [3]Simpson's diversity index of a 7-category race/ethnicity combination. We used multiple regressions to model each diversity metric as a function of program characteristics including class size, accreditation status, type of institution, and other important features. RESULTS: Regardless of the demographic diversity metric examined, we found that applicant diversity was higher among provisionally accredited programs and those receiving more applications. We also identified trends suggesting that programs in more metropolitan areas were able to attract more diverse applicants. Programs that did not require the GRE were also able to attract more diverse applicants when considering the URM and SDI metrics, though results for URiM were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide insights into modifiable (e.g., GRE requirement) and non-modifiable (e.g., provisionally accredited) program characteristics that are associated with more demographically diverse applicant pools.

Student-centered Pipeline to Advance Research in Cancer Careers (SPARCC): Diversifying the Clinical Cancer Research Workforce.

A lack of diversity in the clinical cancer workforce causes undue burden limiting research and patient care advancements. Recruitment and retention of individuals underrepresented in medicine/research can enhance patient-provider concordance. The Student-centered Pipeline to Advance Research in Cancer Careers (SPARCC) uniquely prepares underrepresented minority students to quickly transition into the clinical research workforce and seek advanced graduate degrees. Experiential learning theory and culturally responsive pedagogy ground SPARCC's rigorous competency-based curriculum incorporating cancer care, clinical trial development, social supports, and mentored research experiences. Concurrent mixed-methods analysis includes evaluations of workshops, clinical-practicums, and pre-, post-, and 6-month-post-knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Analysis of data included stepwise multivariate regression analysis, Spearman's rho correlations, and assessments of inter-item reliability via Cronbach's alpha (IBM® SPSS® 24.0). Inductive content analysis coded phrases and analytic patterns were distilled enhancing descriptions of experiences. From January 2019 to March 2019, 62% of applications came from underrepresented minorities. Ten students were accepted, 90% identified as underrepresented minority. All ten students completed the pre-, post-, and 6-month-post-evaluations. Overall scores increased significantly from pre-evaluation to 6-month-post-evaluation. Evaluation data came from 431 responses of 60 workshops, with a mean score of 9.1 (10-point scale). Students completed three clinical practicums, which received an overall mean score of 8.2 (10-point scale). A robust curriculum, structured recruitment, diverse faculty, and comprehensive evaluations made SPARCC a compelling strategy for supporting underrepresented minority students to seek immediate employment as clinical research professionals or application to advanced graduate degree programs.

Consensus Building to Inform Common Evaluation Metrics for the Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) Program.

Common measures facilitate the standardization of assessment practices. These types of measures are needed to develop instruments that can be used to assess the overall effectiveness of the U54 Comprehensive Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (CPACHE) funding mechanism. Developing common measures requires a multi-phase process. Stakeholders used the nominal group technique, a consensus development process, and the Grid-Enabled Measures (GEM) platform to identify evaluation constructs and measures of those constructs. Use of these instruments will ensure the implementation of standardized data elements, facilitate data integration, enhance the quality of evaluation reporting to the National Cancer Institute, foster comparative analyses across centers, and support the national assessment of the CPACHE program.

Research Education Program for Underrepresented Minority Students: Students' Perception of Academic Enrichment and Research Activities.

The Research Education Program (REP) is an NIH R25-funded training grant designed to increase the pipeline of underrepresented minority (URM) students entering graduate programs and pursuing biomedical research and health care careers. Each week, students participated in different academic enrichment activities during morning sessions. Research activities were during afternoon sessions. URM students presented their research findings in a local poster session with their peers, graduate medical students, and faculty members. They also attended national conferences to gain experience and expand their professional networks. Our participants included 14.3% rural, 42.85% suburban, and 42.85% urban students. Of this, 83.33% were females, while 16.67% were males. In addition, 100% of students indicated exceptional satisfaction in 64.0% of the academic enrichment activities offered by the REP, and 100% indicated exceptional satisfaction in 63.0% of the research activities. Future research will investigate the long-term effects of REP and graduate enrollments.

For Aging Research and Equity: Lessons Learned in Undergraduate Research Education.

Mentoring underrepresented students in aging research during the COVID-19 pandemic affords many opportunities for innovation and learning, for both students and program leaders. Here, we describe lessons learned from an Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (ADAR) program at a women-centered, minority-serving undergraduate institution. We share program elements and assessment results related to scholars' education in aging, support through community-building and mentorship, and research experiences in gerosciences. Notably, we highlight lessons learned for retaining and training undergraduate students as graduate school-ready researchers: 1) draw students into a community focused on social justice, 2) show students that geroscience is inclusive and integrative, 3) model professionalism with flexibility, 4) keep open lines of communication, and 5) build a team of mentors around each scholar. By sharing insights from our community of practice in geroscience research and education, we hope to model best practices for URM student support in aging research.

Thinking Ahead to the Next Generation of Cardiometabolic Investigators: What It Takes to Successfully Engage Underrepresented Minorities in Biomedical and Public Health Careers.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to examine the existing information regarding cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) manifestations among underrepresented minority populations, underrepresented minorities' representation in the cardiometabolic workforce, and the models that successfully recruit and retain underrepresented minorities in the field. RECENT FINDINGS: The scientific literature is replete with information on methods to recruit and train URM in research careers. However, there are few programs that are specifically designed to train URM to become diabetes researchers, or more specifically cardiometabolic researchers. The CMS scientific community leaders do not have to design a new learning program to engage URM in research. They only have to follow the prototypes by other organizations and make applicable to cardiometabolic research.

Racial/ethnic health disparities in dermatology in the United States, part 1: Overview of contributing factors and management strategies.

Racial or ethnic disparities are prevalent in the field of dermatology. Part 1 of this continuing medical education series aims to elucidate contributors to racial and ethnic disparities within dermatology and highlight potential actionable steps to combat these disparities. We review access to care, workforce diversity, cultural competency, implicit bias, dermatologic education material, patient education, and clinical research. Part 2 of the continuing medical education series will address disease-specific inequities that influence the clinical practice of dermatology.

Trends in Racial and Gender Profiles of United States Academic Emergency Medicine Faculty: Cross-Sectional Survey From 2007 to 2018.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have reported existing disparities in academic medicine. The purpose of this study was to assess racial and gender disparity in academic emergency medicine (EM) faculty positions across the United States from 2007 to 2018. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to identify the racial and ethnic and gender distributions across academic ranks in EM. The secondary objective was to describe the racial and gender proportions across different tenure tracks and degrees. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis using data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Simple descriptive statistics and time series analysis were employed to assess the trends and relationship between race and gender across academic rank, type of degree, and tenure status. RESULTS: When averaged, 75% of all faculty members were White physicians and 67.5% were male. Asian faculty members showed an increased representation in the lower academic ranks and underrepresented minority groups demonstrated a small increase. Asian faculty members demonstrated a significantly increasing trend at the level of instructor (t = 0.02; p = 0.034; 95% CI 0.05-1.03). Female faculty members showed a significantly decreasing trend over the study period (t = -0.01; p < 0.001; 95% CI 0.68-0.75). White academic physicians and male faculty members made up most of all degree types and tenure categories. CONCLUSIONS: Despite an increase in proportional representation, the underrepresentation of female faculty members and those from minority groups persists in emergency medicine. Further studies are needed to identify and address the root causes of these differences.

Gender and Racial Disparity Among US Forensic Psychiatry Fellows: Broken System by Default.

Diversity enhances the performance of the healthcare system by providing better patient outcomes and reducing physician burnout. In this study, we explored the gender and racial trends in the recruitment of women and racial minorities into forensic psychiatry fellowship programs in the US. Retrospective data analysis was performed by utilizing the data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)'s annual Data Resource Books from the year 2007 to 2021. Demographic data, including gender and race, were extracted for forensic psychiatry fellows. The number of female trainees increased significantly to become a majority, i.e., 58.8% of all forensic psychiatry trainees in 2020-2021 were female compared to 27.78% of women forensic psychiatry fellows in 2007-08. Between 2011-12 and 2020-2021, there was a relative increase in White (Non-Hispanic), Asian/Pacific Islander and Black (Non-Hispanic) forensic psychiatry fellows, by 54.75%, 114.4%, and 0.36% respectively. Despite the overall increase in the numbers of ethnic minorities in US psychiatry residency and fellowship programs, racial minorities remain significantly under-represented in forensic psychiatry fellowship programs. We need to revise policies to promote underrepresented minorities in medicine (URMM) in forensic psychiatry.

School-supervised Asthma Therapy is Associated with Improved Long-Term Asthma Outcomes for Underrepresented Minority Children.

Asthma morbidity disproportionately impacts children from low-income and racial/ethnic minority communities. School-supervised asthma therapy improves asthma outcomes for up to 15 months for underrepresented minority children, but little is known about whether these benefits are sustained over time. We examined the frequency of emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions for 83 children enrolled in Asthma Link, a school nurse-supervised asthma therapy program serving predominantly underrepresented minority children. We compared outcomes between the year preceding enrollment and years one-four post-enrollment. Compared with the year prior to enrollment, asthma-related ED visits decreased by 67.9% at one year, 59.5% at two years, 70.2% at three years, and 50% at four years post-enrollment (all p-values< 0.005). There were also significant declines in mean numbers of total ED visits, asthma-related hospital admissions, and total hospital admissions. Our results indicate that school nurse-supervised asthma therapy could potentially mitigate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in childhood asthma.

Workforce Trends of Underrepresented Minority Nurses in the United States Over the Last Decade: Progress Towards Equal Representation?

A healthcare workforce representative of the race/ethnicity composition of the population it serves is central to addressing systemic health inequities. The aim of this study was to assess workforce trends of underrepresented minority (URM) nurses using the National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses years 2008 and 2018 and the American Community Survey years 2010 and 2019. We examined changes over time in URM composition (Black/African American (B/AA), Latine, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (NH/PI)) for registered nurses (RN), nurse practitioners (NPs), educational attainment (diploma/associate, BSN, MS(N)/PhD), job type (patient care, research, administration/supervision, teaching, other), and rural/urban location using descriptive statistics and bivariate regressions. While the proportion of the URM RN workforce grew significantly, the only URM group demonstrating proportional gains in the APRN workforce were Latine nurses. URM representation in educational attainment grew across all degree types. By 2018/2019, Latine nurses have their largest representation in the Dipl./ASN degree group and saw a proportional decline for PhD educated nurses. B/AA nurses have their largest representation at the MS(N)/PhD level. However, smaller proportions of B/AA nurses were working as APRNs compared to their non-URM colleagues. At the PhD level, few B/AA nurses were represented in research and teaching positions. A subgroup analysis of unemployed nurses seeking work revealed that B/AA and AI/AN nurses were overrepresented among unemployed nurses. While today's nursing workforce is more representative of the nation than ever before, results show unequal representation of URM and non-URM nurses across the ranks of the nursing professions that suggest unequal career and labor market opportunities.

A Randomized Study to Assess the Effect of Including the Graduate Record Examinations Results on Reviewer Scores for Underrepresented Minorities.

Whether requiring Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) results for doctoral applicants affects the diversity of admitted cohorts remains uncertain. This study randomized applications to 2 population-health doctoral programs at the University of California San Francisco to assess whether masking reviewers to applicant GRE results differentially affects reviewers' scores for underrepresented minority (URM) applicants from 2018-2020. Applications with GRE results and those without were randomly assigned to reviewers to designate scores for each copy (1-10, 1 being best). URM was defined as self-identification as African American/Black, Filipino, Hmong, Vietnamese, Hispanic/Latinx, Native American/Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. We used linear mixed models with random effects for the applicant and fixed effects for each reviewer to evaluate the effect of masking the GRE results on the overall application score and whether this effect differed by URM status. Reviewer scores did not significantly differ for unmasked versus masked applications among non-URM applicants (ß = 0.15; 95% CI: -0.03, 0.33) or URM applicants (ß = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.49, 0.54). We did not find evidence that removing GREs differentially affected URM compared with non-URM students (ß for interaction = -0.13, 95% CI: -0.55, 0.29). Within these doctoral programs, results indicate that GRE scores neither harm nor help URM applicants.

Underrepresented minority representation trends in gynecologic oncology fellowships in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate representation trends of historically underrepresented minority (URM) groups in gynecologic oncology fellowships in the United States using a nationwide database collected by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). METHODS: Data on self-reported ethnicity/race of filled residency positions was collected from ACGME Database Books across three academic years from 2016 to 2019. Primary chi-square analysis compared URM representation in gynecologic oncology to obstetrics and gynecology, other surgical specialties, and other medical specialties. Secondary analysis examined representation of two URM subgroups: 1) Asian/Pacific Islander, and 2) Hispanic, Black, Native American, Other (HBNO), across specialty groups. RESULTS: A total of 528 gynecologic oncology positions, 12,559 obstetrics and gynecology positions, 52,733 other surgical positions, and 240,690 other medical positions from ACGME accredited medical specialties were included in analysis. Primary comparative analysis showed a statistically significant lower proportion (P < 0.05) of URM trainees in gynecologic oncology in comparison to each of obstetrics and gynecology, other surgical fields, and other medical fields. Secondary analysis also demonstrated a significantly lower proportion (P < 0.05) of HBNO physicians in gynecologic oncology in comparison to obstetrics and gynecology, as well as all other medical and surgical specialties. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates the disparities in URM representation, especially those who identify as HBNO, in gynecologic oncology fellowship training in comparison to obstetrics and gynecology as well as other medical and surgical fields. Improvements to the current recruitment and selection practices in gynecologic oncology fellowships in the United States are necessary in order to ensure a diverse and representative workforce.

Maximizing Black applicant matriculation in U.S. PA programs: associations between the number of submitted applications and likelihood of matriculation.

BACKGROUND: Physician Assistants (PA) are important members of the medical team, and increasing diversity in healthcare professionals has been consistently associated with improved health outcomes for underrepresented minority patients. In this study of a national cohort of PA program applicants, we investigated whether the number of programs a student applied to (Application Number, AN) was significantly associated with increased likelihood of matriculation into a PA program. METHODS: We examined all applications (n = 27,282) to the 2017-2018 admissions cycle of the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants, which is utilized by over 90% of accredited PA programs in the US. As we a priori hypothesized that associations would be non-linear, we used natural cubic splines to estimate the associations between matriculation and AN, controlling for multiple metrics of academic achievement, experience, and applicant demographics. We subsequently used segmented regression analyses (modified poisson regression with robust error variance) to investigate log-linear associations above and below inflection points identified in the spline analyses. Additionally, we explored for effect modification by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: The strongest associations were observed between application number 2-7, and a threshold effect was observed at > 16 applications, beyond which there was no significant, incremental benefit in matriculation likelihood. Associations differed by race, particularly for application number 2-7, wherein the incremental benefit from each additional application was highest for Black applicants (Likelihood Ratio [LR]: 1.243, 95% CI: 1.136 to 1.360) vs non-Latinx White (LR: 1.098, 95% CI: 1.072 to 1.125), with no additional, incremental benefit beyond 7 program applications. For all other races, significant increased likelihoods of matriculation were observed until 16 program applications. CONCLUSIONS: These findings can help guide pre-PA advisors and PA programs, providing recommended thresholds to applicants on the most cost effective ways to increase their likelihood of admissions, and the PA profession as a whole by providing actionable information that can potentially increase Race/Ethnic diversity in the PA profession and, by extension, medical teams.

Developing a Novel Framework for an Undergraduate Cancer Research Education and Engagement Program for Underrepresented Minority Students: the Florida-California CaRE2 Research Education Core (REC) Training Program.

Lack of substantive research experiences and technical skills mentoring during undergraduate studies leaves many underrepresented minority (URM) students unprepared to apply to competitive graduate programs. As a part of our ongoing effort to increase the pipeline for the development and training of successful URM scientists in biomedical sciences with focus on reducing cancer health disparities, the Florida-California Cancer Research Education and Engagement (CaRE2) Health Equity Center was launched in 2018. Funded through an NIH/NCI U54 grant mechanism, the CaRE2 Center is a triad partnership among Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), a minority-serving institution, University of Florida (UF), and University of Southern California (USC) Cancer Center. One of the objectives of the triad partnership is to promote the coordination and implementation of the training of the next generation of Black and Latinx biomedical scientists in Florida and California. An important component of the CaRE2 program is the Research and Education Core (REC) designed to coordinate the training of URM students and researchers at different levels in their academic and professional developments. The undergraduate cancer research training program under FAMU-CaRE2 Center is a 3-year (2018-2021) project to identify, train, mentor, and provide the URM undergraduate students with the support network they need to flourish in the program and beyond. In its year-1 funding cycle, the program has made significant progress in developing a novel framework for an undergraduate cancer research education and engagement program at FAMU, one of the forefront minority institutions in the nation. The mentored research program is complemented with professional development and engagement activities, including cancer research seminars, workshops, and community outreach activities. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the strategies implemented for an effective partnership, the leadership and mentoring skills, and outcomes from the year-1 experiences. In addition, we present the progress made in advancing the pool of underrepresented minority students with scientific and academic career progression paths focused on cancer health disparities.

Knowledge and opinions of the genetic counseling profession of high school students from underrepresented backgrounds.

The field of genetic counseling began in the 1960s, with young, white women quickly comprising the profession's core constituency. The field has made many efforts to increase its racial and ethnic diversity with little success. The 2019 Professional Status Survey, distributed by the National Society of Genetic Counselors, reported that 90% of the respondents identified as white, 95% as female, and 70% under the age of 40. This qualitative study explored the current career interests of high school students from underrepresented backgrounds as well as their understanding of and thoughts about the genetic counseling profession. Sixteen semi-structured interviews were performed with high school students from the Boston Preparatory Charter School. Major themes emerged reflecting that the participants (a) were science-minded and empathetic, (b) had not heard of genetic counseling but were interested in learning more about it, and (c) provided perspectives different from those historically over-represented in the genetic counseling workforce. Implications for genetic counselors include the need for improved recruitment strategies accessible to individuals of underrepresented backgrounds who might be interested in the profession and the importance of acknowledging that valuable contributions and improvements to the field could be made by such individuals. Future studies could encompass a larger sample size; explore the interests, opinions, and perspectives of high school students with minority identities other than racial and/or ethnic minority; or assess the success of current or new recruitment methods.