PM2085: Next Gen Pediatricians: A Virtual Trainee-led Mentorship Program for UIM Pediatric Applicants

Purpose/Objectives: The racial and ethnic diversity of the physician workforce continues to lag behind the general population in all specialties, including pediatrics. Pipeline programs have been created in an attempt to increase the number of physicians from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (UIM). Despite these efforts, medical education has significant racial and ethnic inequities, such as clinical grades and standardized test scores, that may lead to disparities in residency application outcomes if not addressed with appropriate advising. With few UIM faculty in academia and limited access to mentors beyond one’s institution, UIM students often experience a dearth of mentorship throughout the residency application process. The COVID-19 pandemic poses additional stressors, such as preventing in-person opportunities for networking, that could exacerbate these inequities.

Design/Methods: In April 2020, five Black pediatric residents and fellows from different institutions created Next Gen Pediatricians (NGP), a virtual mentorship program to meet the unique preparation and support needs of UIM fourth year medical students (MD or DO) throughout the pediatric application process. A one-year curriculum was developed with monthly, interactive webinars and pediatric residents, fellows, and attendings were recruited to serve as mentors. To promote sustainability, former mentees were selected to join the executive board in future years through an application process.

Results: Through personal networks and partnerships with pediatric leadership organizations, NGP recruited a national representation of predominantly UIM pediatricians and pediatric trainees to serve as mentors via virtual support (video conference, e-mail, phone, etc.) for the interview season. NGP mentees represent over 40 medical schools in the United States and the Caribbean and were recruited predominantly through social media. The webinar curriculum was tailored to cover relevant topics throughout the application cycle, such as "picking residency programs", "virtual interviews", and "Intern Year 101." To improve mentee engagement after the first year, a mentee application was implemented prior to mentor-mentee pairing. In its first two years, Next Gen Pediatricians has mentored a total of 161 fourth-year medical students with 100% successfully obtaining a pediatric residency position.

Conclusion/Discussion: Next Gen Pediatricians is a novel method of providing mentorship, guidance, and support to UIM pediatric applicants through virtual recruitment. Mentees benefited greatly from receiving near peer support through the webinar series and one-on-one mentoring. The development of a virtual program allowed NGP to support UIM students beyond geographic limitations and provide necessary advice and encouragement in successfully navigating the admissions process. The results from this virtual-based programming can serve as a model for engaging and supporting UIM students and trainees in different stages and specialties.