RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine in a controlled cohort whether a one-day hospital visitation program will affect long-term student interest in a career in medicine. DESIGN: Historical cohort study using data from alumni survey in fall 2008. SETTING: Two academic hospitals, in collaboration with a community-based educational organization. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 775 motivated, high-achieving eighth-grade students from low-income households throughout New Jersey. The students were enrolled from school year 2000-01 through 2007-08 in a fourteen-month academic enrichment curriculum run by the New Jersey Scholars, Educators, Excellence, Dedication, Success program (NJ SEEDS) at four sites across the state. INTERVENTION: Students from two of the four sites participated in NJ SEEDS Hospital Day, a one-day experiential hospital visit. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The percentage of alumni who stated the intention to pursue a medical degree. RESULTS: Thirty-nine of 175 (22%) survey respondents who were offered a Hospital Day program stated a plan to pursue a medical degree, compared with 42 of 288 (15%) respondents not offered a Hospital Day experience (p = .03). Adjusting for gender, race, year of participation, and tutoring by a Hospital Day physician, the factors that significantly increased the likelihood of planning to pursue a medical degree were Hospital Day participation (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.0; 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.2-3.4) and Asian race (adjusted OR 3.6; CI 1.3-10.1). CONCLUSIONS: An interactive hospital-based one-day pipeline program was associated with increased plans to pursue a medical degree among NJ SEEDS students when surveyed one to eight years following participation.