C56-17 A Structured Approach to Diversifying the Pulmonary, Critical Care Trainee Pipeline

Introduction The physician workforce in pulmonary and critical care medicine (PCCM) does not reflect the diversity of the general population or the patients treated by the specialty. To begin to address this gap our group developed a structured program for medical students and residents that featured PCCM faculty panel discussions, interactive simulation sessions, and formal mentorship relationships. In collaboration with historically underrepresented in medicine (UIM) student groups, the program aimed to increase access to and interest in PCCM early in medical education. Methods The program included a simulation session and an educational panel discussion, which were completed with the buy-in of UIM medical student leadership by partnering with the local chapter of our institution’s Student National Medical Association. Partnership was also found within the student PCCM interest group which was formed following a pilot event). Additional elements included happy hours and direct access to mentorship. Real time surveys were used to assess student interest in PCCM and those expressing interest were paired with faculty mentors by program leaders. The simulation session consisted of hands-on training in intubation and bronchoscopy skills coupled with a faculty panel. Results Surveys administered were distributed to assess program efficacy and gauge student interest in IM and PCCM. A total of 23 students participated in the simulation session and educational panel. Of these, 56% were first year medical students,73% identified as female and 40% identified as non-white. At the time of the session, 65% of participants reported interest in PCCM. 60% of students could not identify a faculty mentor. Following programming four mentor-mentee dyads were created with access to additional faculty. Conclusion Targeted programming including simulation sessions and use of local medical student networks identified the interest of a cohort of diverse medical students to pursue internal medicine and PCCM fellowship, as measured by just in time surveys. Further access to PCCM were created through mentor pairings. Diversity in the field of PCCM can be increased through strategic partnering and reducing barriers to accessing faculty mentors. This abstract is funded by: ATS Medical Education Grant