Utilizing Mentorship as a Tool to Recruit Community College Students into Medical School

ABSTRACT

Community college (CC) students interested in medical school may lack the resources to be successful. CC students represent diverse backgrounds and often more closely reflect underserved populations’ demographics than traditional University students. Yet, there is a negative association between attending a CC and being accepted into a medical school. Increasing mentorship opportunities for CC students may improve their pathway to medical school. The University of New Mexico School of Medicine established a partnership with a community college to pair medical student mentors with CC student mentees. Ten mentorship pairings were then surveyed over a one-year period. CC students showed increased interest in healthcare after mentorship. Additionally, the mentors who had attended a CC previously reported more mentorship at their CC would have been beneficial. This program demonstrated that enhancing mentorship for CC students is a practical way to help improve their pathway to the healthcare workforce.

Acknowledgments

Joe Eridon, at Central New Mexico Community College (C.N.M.) for serving as the C.N.M. faculty facilitator of University of New Mexico medical students who volunteered the time and knowledge to make this program a success.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).