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Increasing Diversity in Science and Health Professions: A 21-Year Longitudinal Study Documenting College and Career Success

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Abstract

Despite decades of precollege science education programs, African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans remain critically underrepresented in science and health professions. This report describes college and career outcomes among graduates of the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP), a 5-week summer residential program for low-income high school students among whom 97% have been followed for up to 21 years. Approximately 24 students are selected annually, with participation limited to low-income students who have faced substantial personal hardships. Undergraduate and medical students provide key program leadership and training. The curriculum is based on science inquiry education and includes hospital internships, anatomy practicums, research projects, faculty lectures, college admissions/standardized test preparation, and long-term college and career guidance. A total of 476 high school students participated between 1988 and 2008, with 61% from underrepresented ethnic minority groups. Overall, 78% of African American, 81% of Latino, and 82% of Native American participants have earned a 4-year college degree (among those admitted to college, and excluding those currently attending college). In contrast, among 25–34-year old California adults, 16% of African Americans, 8% of Latinos, and 10% of Native Americans earn a 4-year college degree. Among SMYSP’s 4-year college graduates, 47% are attending or have completed medical or graduate school, and 43% are working as or training to become health professionals. SMYSP offers a model that expands inquiry-based science education beyond the classroom, and recognizes the role of universities as “high school interventionists” to help diversify health professions.

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Acknowledgments

The following grants to Dr. Winkleby funded this work: The Stanford MKITS Science Program: CVD and Public Health (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, R25 HL075748); Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Grants for Precollege Science Education (Grant # 51006099); Stanford Medical Youth Science Program School-Based Science Initiative (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, FIPSE, U.S. Department of Education, P116B040327); and Stanford College Outreach Program in Education (California Educational Facilities Authority, CEFA 94215). In-kind resources are provided by: Stanford University, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. The authors thank Nell Curran and Dale Lemmerick for leadership within the organization, Kathleen Fagliano for the annual evaluation of students, members of the SMYSP advisory board, and the many foundations and individual donors that have helped sustain the program over the years. The authors also thank Julia Steele, Kathy Sloane, and Abby Ginzberg who contributed to the SMYSP book, Healing Journeys: Teaching Medicine, Nurturing Hope, and the SMYSP documentary film, Opportunity of a Lifetime.

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Winkleby, M.A., Ned, J., Ahn, D. et al. Increasing Diversity in Science and Health Professions: A 21-Year Longitudinal Study Documenting College and Career Success. J Sci Educ Technol 18, 535–545 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-009-9168-0

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