Widening participation: the value of diversity

Abstract

Widening participation (WP), the active encouragement and recruitment of student populations traditionally under-represented in medicine, has long been pertinent to medical school admissions policy. These applicants include those from ethnic minorities, lower socio-economic backgrounds (SEB) and those with a disability. Widening participation may be achieved through a heterogeneous group of initiatives, including workshops and recruitment policies. Recent literature has focused on the value WP can confer to medicine and nursing, and how medical schools express their policies on WP.1 . Ballejos MP , Olsen P , Price-Johnson T , Garcia C , Parker T , Sapién RE , Romero-Leggott V . Recruiting American Indian/Alaska Native students to medical school: a multi-institutional alliance in the US southwest . Acad Med 2018 ; 93 ( 1 ): 71 -75 .2 . Gore J , Patfi eld S , Holmes K , Smith M . Widening participation in medicine? New insights from school students' aspirations . Med Educ 2018 ; 52 ( 2 ): 227 -238 .