Shifting the paradigm in outreach to under-represented groups

Abstract

The Community of Support (COS) is a longitudinal and collaborative initiative that enables students who are Indigenous, Black, Filipino, economically disadvantaged, or who self-identify with having a disability to join and receive support at any stage of their medical school journey. The goal of COS is to increase diversity in the fields of research and medicine, as a diverse physician taskforce is essential to meeting the needs of Canada's patient population. Our program supports students at various points in their academic careers, beginning from first year of undergrad to end of PhD and into the workforce. We offer a variety of support systems that aim to address gaps and empower students. Our three-pronged approach provides COS members with support at the levels of i) admissions information, ii) mentorship and experiential opportunities, and iii) application support (including MCAT prep). Over the past 3 years, we have grown to include over 1,100 participants at various stages of their medical school journeys, from first year undergraduate students to university graduates from institution across Canada. As a result, in just three years, we have supported over 80 students with successful admissions to medical school, and alumni from CoS are now represented in 11/15 Canada's medical schools, with a growing number of US schools, such as

From mentee to mentor: reflections on a pre-medical student mentorship program for underrepresented groups in medicine

“…Through its student-run chapters at various universities, COS has been able to recruit pre-medical students and pair them with medical student mentors. 3 Some chapters have also received government funding to run mentorship programs for high school students. 3 Other mentorship programs should adopt this or similar models.…”

“… 3 Some chapters have also received government funding to run mentorship programs for high school students. 3 Other mentorship programs should adopt this or similar models.…”

“…Thus, accessing the value offered by COS early in one’s academic career should be prioritized. Although mentorship initiatives continue to grow, 3 further outreach that is targeted and effective would be beneficial to pre-medical students. Existing university chapters should take on this task with guidance from the COS leadership.…”

“…COS is a University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine affiliated initiative that provides longitudinal medical school application support to students who identify as black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC), persons with disability, or economically disadvantaged. 3 It serves as an umbrella program for several initiatives focusing on pre-medical student mentorship, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) 4 support, and networking opportunities.…”