Velasquez David E, Shrestha Anmol, Matias Wilfredo R
Acad Med. 2024 Nov 29;100(5):600-4. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005942.
Despite the importance of socioeconomic status (SES) diversity within the health care workforce, little progress has been made toward this elusive goal. Although centuries of structural disadvantage underlie this stagnation, medical schools are well positioned to increase enrollment and retention of students from low-SES backgrounds. In this research report, the authors investigate existing efforts in undergraduate medical education to improve SES diversity.
The authors analyzed the Association of American Medical Colleges Medical School Admissions Requirements database, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Choose DO Explorer tool, and official medical school websites from December 2022 to May 2023 to examine undergraduate medical education initiatives across 156 allopathic and 56 osteopathic medical schools. They searched for SES diversity efforts in 4 domains: publication of student body demographics (including low-SES or first-generation status), need-based financial aid, low-SES support or affinity groups, and faculty or alumni mentorship programs for low-SES students.
The authors found that 18 medical schools (8.5%) publicly report SES demographic information, 33 (15.6%) report having mentorship programs for low-SES students, 52 (24.5%) report having support or affinity groups for these students, and 154 (72.6%) report offering some level of need-based financial assistance. A greater proportion of MD and public medical schools (128 [82.1%] and 84 [80.0%], respectively) had any kind of SES initiative when compared with DO schools and private medical schools (40 [71.4%] and 84 [78.5%], respectively).
Medical schools can support students from lower-SES backgrounds by publicly reporting classwide SES demographics, dedicating staff and faculty to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, measuring and reporting debt burden by stratified student demographics, and introducing innovative financing solutions.
尽管医疗保健劳动力队伍中的社会经济地位（SES）多样性很重要，但在实现这一难以捉摸的目标方面进展甚微。尽管几个世纪以来的结构性劣势导致了这种停滞不前，但医学院校在增加来自低SES背景学生的入学率和留校率方面具有良好的条件。在本研究报告中，作者调查了本科医学教育中为提高SES多样性所做的现有努力。
作者分析了美国医学院协会医学院入学要求数据库、美国骨科医学院协会“选择DO探索者”工具以及2022年12月至2023年5月期间医学院校的官方网站，以研究156所全科医学和56所骨科医学院校的本科医学教育举措。他们在四个领域搜索了有关SES多样性的努力：公布学生群体人口统计信息（包括低SES或第一代身份）、基于需求的经济援助、低SES支持或亲和团体，以及针对低SES学生的教师或校友指导计划。
作者发现，18所医学院校（8.5%）公开报告了SES人口统计信息，33所（15.6%）报告有为低SES学生提供指导计划，52所（24.5%）报告有为这些学生提供支持或亲和团体，154所（72.6%）报告提供了一定程度的基于需求的经济援助。与骨科医学院校和私立医学院校（分别为40所[71.4%]和84所[78.5%]）相比，更多比例的MD医学院校和公立医学院校（分别为128所[82.1%]和84所[80.0%]）开展了任何形式的SES相关举措。
医学院校可以通过公开报告全年级的SES人口统计信息、投入工作人员和教师开展多样性、公平性和包容性工作、按分层学生人口统计信息衡量和报告债务负担，以及引入创新融资解决方案来支持来自低SES背景的学生。
