Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OA1-2-3
Acceptance Declaration
Accept
Additional Information
I declare I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this program.
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Innovation
Will the presenter be a:
Other
Presenter Other
Faculty
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
yes
Title
Enhancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in medical school admissions - the Schulich Medicine journey
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Medical schools aim to select and train future physicians representative of and able to serve the diverse Canadian population. Enhancing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in Admissions includes identifying and mitigating barriers for those underrepresented in medicine (URM).
Summary of the Innovation
In 2017, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry critically reviewed the general Admissions stream as interview invitations were primarily based on academic metrics rather than holistic review as in the Indigenous stream. Five key changes were introduced for the general stream: 1. A voluntary applicant diversity survey (ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and community size); 2. An Equity Representative; 3. A biosketch for applicants' life experiences; 4. Implicit bias training; and 5. A specific pathway for applicants with financial, sociocultural, and medical barriers (termed ACCESS pathway). Diversity data before (Class of 2022) vs. after (Class of 2024) these initiatives and of the applicant pool vs. admitted class were examined.
Conclusion
For the Class of 2024, the percentage of admitted racialized students (55.2%), those with socioeconomic challenges (32.3%), and those from remote/rural/small town communities (18.6%) reflected applicant pool demographics (52.8%, 29.9%, 17.2%, respectively). Additionally, 5.3% (vs. 5.6% applicant pool) of admitted students had applied through ACCESS. These data suggest that barriers for these URM populations were potentially mitigated by these initiatives. The initiatives also improved representation of racialized students (55.2% Class of 2024 vs. 45.3% Class of 2022), those with socioeconomic challenges (32.3% vs. 19.3%), LGBTQ2S+ (11.0% vs. 9.7%), and those with disability (4.5% vs. 2.4%), while informing future EDI enhancements.
Keyword 1
Equity, diversity, and inclusion
Keyword 2
medical school Admissions
Keyword 3
underrepresented in medicine
Level of Training
General
Abstract Themes
Admissions
Additional Theme (First choice)
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Tisha Joy
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
