PS7-08: A PIPELINE TO SURGERY: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AN EXPERIENTIAL PROGRAM FOR LOW-INCOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Serena Bidwell, MPH, Miquell O Miller, MD, Edmund Lee, MD, Kirbi Yelorda, MD, Mary Hawn, MD, MPH, FACS, Sylvia Bereknyei-Merrell, DrPH, MS, Arden M Morris, MD, MPH; Stanford University

Background: Despite the efforts to increase diversity in healthcare, students who are underrepresented minorities or from low-income schools remain a disproportionately small percentage of medical school applicants and matriculants. These findings are amplified among the surgical specialties. Therefore, we developed a pipeline program aimed at exposing students from low-income high schools to careers in healthcare, with a focus on surgery.

Methods: We first conducted a needs assessment surveying high school students enrolled in a community-based program called Summer Math and Science Honors (SMASH) Academy about their interests in different healthcare and surgical topics. SMASH is designed to empower underrepresented minorities to pursue STEM careers. We used these data to create content that engaged students in hands-on activities that reflected the tactile nature of a surgical profession. Through our partnership with SMASH, we implemented five 90-minute workshops during July 2018. Our workshops, led by surgery residents and faculty, taught students about the educational trajectory to surgery while also guiding them through activities, including taking vital signs, practicing laparoscopic and robotic surgery skills, and interacting with prosected cadavers in an anatomy lab. This program was evaluated with an online pre/post survey measuring medical interest and self-efficacy with a 5-point scale.

Results: 88 students participated in the surgery pipeline program of which 26% were African American, 61% were Latino, and 6% were multi-racial. 77% of the students receive free lunch at their high school, and 81% identify as future first-generation college students. 68 students (77%) completed the workshop evaluations, and each workshop scored greater than 4 out of 5. 62 students (71%) completed both the pre and post surveys, and there were statistically significant improvements in student self-efficacy, specifically related to students understanding the path to becoming a healthcare professional (mean (SD): pre-curriculum 2.8 (1.3), post-curriculum 3.7 (1.0), p<0.05) and feeling of empowerment to pursue a surgical career (mean (SD): pre-curriculum 3.4 (1.3), post-curriculum 3.7 (1.2), p<0.05).

Conclusions: While surgical specialties often lack representation among minority background physicians, pipeline programs that expose students early in their education, utilizing community partnerships and a hands-on curriculum, may be an effective form of intervention.