171 posters, 10 topics, 5 sessions, 690 authors, 211 institutions

American Association of Plastic Surgeons Meeting 2022

April 9 - 12 | San Diego, California

P94

The Stueber Scholarship: A Philanthropy-based Summer Research Program to Improve Plastic Surgery Exposure And Research In Underrepresented Minorities

Preview of The Stueber Scholarship: A Philanthropy-based Summer Research Program to Improve Plastic Surgery Exposure And Research In Underrepresented Minorities

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Poster Presenter

Michael Ha

Authors

Michael Ha, Ledibabari M. Ngaage, Caroline Simon, Arya A. Akhavan, Jonathan Anderson, Sheri Slezak, Kristen Stueber, Yvonne M. Rasko

Affiliations

University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, St. George's University School of Medicine

Part of Topic

Education/Practice Management/Other

The Stueber Scholarship:
A Philanthropy-based Summer Research Program to Improve Plastic Surgery Exposure And Research In Underrepresented Minorities

Michael Ha, MB BChir1; Ledibabari M Ngaage, MB BChir1,2; Caroline Simon, BS1; Arya Andre Akhavan, MD2, Jonathan Anderson, BFA3, Sheri Slezak, MD1; Kristen Stueber, MD1; Yvonne Rasko, MD1

Objectives

Diversity among plastic surgery residents lags behind other medical specialties. Research productivity can increase the competitiveness of a candidate’s application and enhance their chances of a successful residency match.

The authors proposed a philanthropic approach to improve the competitiveness of underrepresented-in-medicine applicants to plastic surgery programs.

Methods

In 2014, the authors’ institution implemented a Scholarship Program, created and financed from the charitable donations of a single alumnus. This 10-week summer research scholarship provided medical students with research experience and opportunities in plastic surgery.

All past Scholars completed a questionnaire on satisfaction and reasons for pursuing the scholarship. The authors then performed a bibliometric analysis on each scholar using Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar to identify published articles since the scholarship and up to the point of residency application.

10 weeks of workshops featuring:

Developing research methods

Building career development skills

$1,500 Scholarship for attendee

Results

Over the last 8 years, 15 medical students have completed the Scholarship. All Scholars reported being very satisfied with their experience.

There was a 1:4 male:female ratio, and three quarters (73%) of students were from minority backgrounds (Figure 1). Only 13% of Scholars had a parent who was a physician.

The most common reason for applying to the scholarship was to “gain exposure to plastic surgery” (100%) (Figure 2). On average, each Scholar was able to achieve by their match:

1.2 Research Awards. 6.1 Presentations. 5.9 Publications

Conclusion

The paucity of diversity in the medical field is a complex issue without a single panacea. This article demonstrates the impact of a summer program funded by philanthropy.

Medical students from underrepresented minorities had remarkable increases in their research productivity and accolades.