Growing the Workforce of Psychiatrists: A Time of Great Need
Desiree Shapiro - University of California, San Diego
Alicia Barnes - University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Heidi Banh - University of California, San Diego
Brandon Newsome - Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Patrice Malone - Columbia
Allen Mara - High Tech High Chula Vista
Location: Session Room 1

During this panel, there will be a dialogue about the experiences of leaders and participants of psychiatry specific pathway programs and initiatives. These pathway programs and experiences promote social equity by providing opportunities for individuals who may otherwise be excluded from the medical profession due to systemic barriers. These programs create a more inclusive and representative healthcare workforce, which, in turn, leads to better patient outcomes and a more equitable healthcare system overall. We need to collaborate, brainstorm, and create opportunities to increase our mental health workforce.

Pathway programs and initiatives are necessary to foster diversity, increase access, address workforce shortages, and promote social equity within the field of medicine. Even one time programs can create opportunities to draw students into the field to increase diversity and representation. By creating more diverse healthcare professionals, pathway programs help address healthcare disparities and ensure culturally responsivity or all patients. These programs create a more inclusive and representative healthcare workforce, which, in turn, leads to better patient outcomes and a more equitable healthcare system overall.

This panel will include 3-4 faculty from different institutions who have engaged in encouraging early exposure to psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. We will also welcome 2-3 student scholars who have participated in programming. Given the mental health crisis our country is facing, we need to explore ways to meet the individual and community mental health needs of our population. Offering inclusive learning opportunities, mental health related training experiences, and community engagement allows for individuals from all training levels to appreciate the relevance of mental health and career opportunities.

This panel is essential in bringing together psychiatry leaders and learners to better understand and promote workforce development in medicine. By dialoguing with program and initiative leaders as well as scholars in these programs and initiatives, we will be better prepared for future action. Through this panel, we will address various engagement points including high school, college, medical student, and graduate medical training. Learning how to enhance psychiatry related pathway programs help facilitate access to medical education for individuals who may face barriers such as financial constraints, limited educational opportunities, or lack of mentorship.

There are countless barriers that remain in terms of recruitment, effort, time, curricula development, resources, and the cumulative opportunity gap. The rationale for the panel is to bring together medical educators passionate about health equity, workforce development, and collaboration. We are hoping to explore ways to increase exposure to psychiatry and build community outreach and education into existing programs in place. In our panel, the focus will be on mental health; however, the principles can be applied to any field of medicine.

The PATHway for URMs to Medical School: Highlighting the Challenges We Face
Tatyana Dunn - Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine
Christina Jefferson - Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine
Sydni Britton - Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine
Ndili Cook - Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine
Cyerra Cruise - Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine
Kayleen Lau - Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine
Zuri Williams - SUNY Upstate Medical School
Jonathan Wisco - Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Location: Session Room 2

For decades the number of students under-represented in medicine (URiMs) who have been accepted into medical school has remained stagnant. Although there are programs to increase the number of URiMs accepted into medical school, there has not been significant progress in percentages as according to AAMC, URiM’s make up 8% of all medical students. There is still work to be done to recruit and accept URMs into medical school. This discussion is intended to have an open dialogue around the academic, social, and financial difficulties that could pose challenges for URiMs.

ASPBP’s goal is to bring to light opportunities for students to pursue medical training. Pathway programs are one of the most effective means by which URMs can pursue a career in medicine. Our panel consists of URiM students from multiple institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), pathway programs, or those who have already matriculated into medical school. This discussion will elucidate the pathway, obstacles, and barriers of the medical school application and matriculation process with the goal of educating people on the URiM student experience.

URiMs face structural, systemic, and personal challenges that most non-URiMs can not even fathom with regard to becoming a competitive applicant to apply into medical school. Pathway programs designed for minorities are often a foundational bridge that allows students the resources needed to succeed in not only premedical years, but in medical school as well. Addressing the need for these programs, spreading awareness, and most importantly finding ways to improve these programs through personal experience is imperative in order to diversify the world of medicine, not only for the students, but for those they will serve.

URiM’s face academic challenges at the start of their education as they often come from communities with underfunded school systems that lack adequate resources. Students face financial difficulties preparing for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) as preparation resources for this exam are often very costly. Even when URiMs can overcome these challenges and get into medical school, there are not many classmates they can seek community in. This social component of not belonging fuels imposters syndrome. This discussion provides insight on how essential pathway programs are, opening conversation around the academic, financial, and social challenges URiM’s faces.

Although there is research and literature on the lack of URiMs in medical school and a stagnation of URiM percentages despite schools implementing interventional methods to increase them, the narratives of URiMs actual experiences are scarce. This panel serves to address and discuss the academic, social, and financial difficulties underrepresented populations in medicine face, specifically in the realm of pathway and special masters programs. We hope to answer in our own words and experiences the commonly posed question that are left at the end of research: why have these interventions not been effective in increasing URiM populations?

From Classroom to Curriculum: Preparing Programs for an Authentic, Inclusive Student Experience
Jasmine Bazinet-Philips - The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont  
Steffani Driggins - Claflin University
Laurel Murphy Hoffmann - Oregon Health & Science University
Lauren Roth - Albert Einstein College of Medicine
​​​​​​​Location: Session Room 3

Our experienced panelists have adapted program structure, curriculum, and language to strive for more inclusive teaching. This panel will provide lessons learned and strategies for future implementation.