P3.177: Bridging the Gap in Our Backyard: Using a Book Discussion Led by Black Physicians to Inspire Teen Interest in Health Professions Careers

Background: A diverse health care workforce is essential for improving healthcare outcomes. Racial concordance between patients and providers has been associated with improvements in cardiac care, infant mortality, and preventive care adherence. Though a diverse workforce is important, barriers to recruitment into health professions exist among various educational stages, including for school-aged youth. Barriers include home and community factors, economic barriers, and lack of mentorship. While many schools exist near major urban health systems, some minority students may not have access to a minority physician in their social sphere or see health professions as a potential career option. This project aimed to bridge that gap by bringing Black physicians to urban schools and finding common ground through a health career-oriented book discussion.

Project Description: The project took place in a public high school within large urban post-industrial Midwest city. It consisted of an 8-session lunch time book discussion between students and physicians. There was also a kick-off session and a wrap-up session for debriefing and feedback. The group discussed the book, “The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream.” The session structure included lunch, an ice breaker, topical discussions of themes from within book chapters and application of the themes in both the students’ and the physicians’ lives. Students also had opportunities to ask questions and direct the conversation to related issues that were relevant to them.

Discussion: Twenty-one students attended at least once, and average session attendance included 10-15 students. Participants were 9th (14),10th (1) 11th (1), and12th (5) grade students. Participants gave favorable feedback to the program, including enjoying the format and pace of the discussion. Students voiced a desire to visit a hospital and after culmination of the book club, had the opportunity to tour the hospital, participate in hands on experiences, and attend a health careers lunchtime panel. An adapted version of the book club was recorded into a podcast with local high school students, medical students, and local physicians to share insight with future students.

Conclusion: This health career-focused book discussion between students and physicians was favorably received by students. A main strength of our project was the relationships that developed by practicing presence with students by meeting them were they were, at their school. Students also appreciated pairing the book reading with the real-life experience of visiting a hospital. Future approaches may include engaging younger students, increasing hands-on opportunities, and ultimately increasing scalability and integration into the classroom. In doing so, participation could be a first step in building bridges into the clinical setting. This could ultimately aide in increasing the pipeline into health careers for schools and students in the backyards of local urban health systems.