Association of the COVID-19 Pandemic With Medical School Diversity Pathway Programs

Key Points Question Is the COVID-19 pandemic associated with changes in medical school diversity pathway programs? Findings This survey study of 12 medical school pathway program administrators and 112 osteopathic and allopathic schools found a decrease in diversity pathway programming since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the previous year. The participants reported that in-person experiences, including research and shadowing, and programs targeting elementary and middle school–aged students appeared to be the most affected. Meaning The findings of this study suggest that diversity pathway programs were substantially disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic; the long-term outcomes of these disruptions are unknown.


eAppendix 1: Key Informant Interview Guide and Questions for School Leaders
Introduction to Phone Interview Hi, My name is Sonal Batra, the principal investigator (or Julie Orban, research scientist) from the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity at The George Washington University. On the call with me today are several members of my research team (introduce whoever is on).
Before we get started, we wanted to thank you for taking the time to participate on this call. We understand that you may have many other competing priorities, so we really appreciate your willingness to share your thoughts.
I want to briefly review the purpose of this call. Through this interview, we have 2 main aims: First, we want to understand how your school's pipeline program(s) have been impacted by . Second, we want to understand if there are methods for sustaining and supporting pipeline programs during the pandemic. Your participation will help inform a broader survey on this topic.
At this time, we would like to ask for your consent to record our conversation so that we may better capture what is being said. The recording is for our review only and will remain confidential-only myself and the other members of the research team will have access to identifiable data. All data collected will be deidentified and reported only in aggregate. Is that okay with you?
As a reminder, this conversation is entirely voluntary and we can stop at any time.

Start of Block: Introduction
Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this survey. Your response will contribute to our understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical school pathway programs. In this research, we are using the term 'pathway program' to describe programs designed to increase the representation of underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students in the health professions. Pathway programs have also been referred to as pipeline, enrichment, or pre-professional programs. When completing the survey, please consider ALL your medical school's pathway programs, regardless of funding streams and scopes.

End of Block: Introduction
Start of Block: Section 1: Background Questions 1 and 2 will only be used to ensure that there are no duplicate responses from a given school AND to correlate results on this survey with externally available data on school characteristics. All data will only be reported in aggregate and no individual schools or roles will be named. 3. Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020), was your school sponsoring, running or assisting with any pathway programs targeted to K-12 and/or undergraduate college students who are underrepresented in medicine aimed at encouraging or preparing them to train for careers in the health professions? o Yes o No o Don't know 4. During the COVID-19 pandemic, has your school been sponsoring, running or assisting with any pathway programs targeted to K-12 and/or undergraduate college students who are underrepresented in medicine aimed at encouraging or preparing them to train for careers in the health professions?

Start of Block: TY
Thank you for completing the survey. Advancing the survey will automatically submit your responses and you will not have the opportunity to return to your answers. Please take a moment to review your answers before submitting.