Casola Allison R, Kunes Brianna, Burns Ricky, Kelly Erin L, de la Cruz Maria Syl
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA.
PRiMER. 2023 Aug 25;7:29. doi: 10.22454/PRiMER.2023.471624. eCollection 2023.
Recruitment of first-generation medical students is essential to improving diversity and inclusion in US medical colleges. First-generation students offer unique experiential insights that foster empathy and cultural competency in the learning environment and improve health outcomes for patients. However, little is known about their demographic characteristics or career goals. It is important to identify these factors to provide insight on ways to better support first-generation students.
This exploratory pilot study aimed to describe background, demographic characteristics, and goals of students. We administered a secondary analysis of a quality improvement and health disparities survey to third-year medical students at a large, private medical school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Measures included demographic information, interest in loan forgiveness programs, and other career goal items. We conducted χ goodness-of-fit tests to examine differences by first-generation status.
Thirteen percent of respondents identified as first-generation medical students (n=26). First-generation medical students were more likely to be male, aged 21-26 years, White, and non-Hispanic/Latino. First-generation students were significantly more likely to report wanting to care for underserved populations during their career and enter loan forgiveness programs, with Department of Education's Public Service Loan Forgiveness program most often cited.
This study provides an exploratory profile of characteristics of first-generation medical students and their career intentions. Our results suggests that enrollment of first-generation students may increase the number of physicians who are willing to serve underserved populations. However, first-generation students may also need more financial support through loan forgiveness programs which has important implications for medical education.
招收第一代医学生对于提高美国医学院校的多样性和包容性至关重要。第一代学生提供了独特的经验见解，有助于在学习环境中培养同理心和文化能力，并改善患者的健康状况。然而，对于他们的人口统计学特征或职业目标却知之甚少。识别这些因素对于深入了解如何更好地支持第一代学生很重要。
这项探索性试点研究旨在描述学生的背景、人口统计学特征和目标。我们对宾夕法尼亚州费城一所大型私立医学院的三年级医学生进行了一项质量改进和健康差异调查的二次分析。测量指标包括人口统计学信息、对贷款减免计划的兴趣以及其他职业目标项目。我们进行了χ拟合优度检验，以检验第一代身份的差异。
13%的受访者将自己认定为第一代医学生（n = 26）。第一代医学生更有可能是男性，年龄在21 - 26岁之间，白人，且非西班牙裔/拉丁裔。第一代学生显著更有可能表示希望在职业生涯中照顾服务不足的人群并加入贷款减免计划，其中最常提到的是教育部的公共服务贷款减免计划。
本研究提供了第一代医学生的特征及其职业意向的探索性概况。我们的结果表明，招收第一代学生可能会增加愿意为服务不足人群服务的医生数量。然而，第一代学生可能也需要通过贷款减免计划获得更多的经济支持，这对医学教育具有重要意义。
