Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students - Project overview: The goal of the UMKC Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students Project is to increase the number of students from economically, educationally, and/or environmentally disadvantaged backgrounds who are prepared to enter, persist in, and graduate from the 6-year BAMD program at UMKC. The School of Medicine will achieve this goal through structured pipeline programs within Students Training in Academia, Health and Research (STAHR). These programs provide students with hands-on experiences, academic support, supplemental instruction, career exploration, personal and professional development, financial literacy education, and mentorship. The specific pipeline programs include the STAHR Summer Scholars, STAHR Saturday Academy, designed for high school and pre-health collegiate students interested in applying to the BAMD program; and STAHR Ambassadors, for students admitted to the BAMD program at the UMKC School of Medicine. Students who matriculate into the BAMD program and express interest in primary care, will receive scholarship support to assist in reducing the financial burden of attending medical school, fostering their success and readiness to join the healthcare workforce. Project objectives: 1) Through the Scholars and Saturday Academy programs, increase the number of high school and college students from disadvantaged backgrounds matriculating into the BAMD program at UMKC; 2) To recruit and retain students in the Ambassador program who graduate from the BAMD program at UMKC; 3) To increase the number of graduates practicing in primary care and in medically underserved communities; 4) To sustain the SDS program through institutionalized partnerships and practices. Needs to be addressed: Students from educationally and/or economically disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to matriculate, persist, and graduate from health professions degree programs. The barriers to degree completion for disadvantaged students include insufficient financial aid opportunities, inadequate preparation for college math and science, lack of self-efficacy, lack of information about academic, social, and financial resources, and lack of coordinated mentoring and other support efforts across health sciences degree programs. Target Populations: 1) Kansas City area high school students, 2) Undergraduate students at UMKC or other post-secondary higher education institutions with an interest in pursuing an MD degree at UMKC, 3) UMKC health professional students admitted to the BAMD program at UMKC. Funding Priority: Our program meets all four of the funding priority criteria. During the required academic years, 274 students graduated from our BAMD program with 39% of those graduates practicing in primary care settings. Additionally, 128 students are working in a medically underserved area. This equates to 48% of graduates, meeting our second criteria for priority funding. On average, we admit 20-25% of students who identify as underrepresented minorities. And lastly, as seen on attachment 6, our School of Medicine is located in an health professions shortage area (HPSA). HHS Region: Region 7: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska Clinical Priorities: Health shortage Areas (HSAs); primary care, rural health, mental and behavioral health, and opioid abuse within the state of Missouri. The project will be accomplished through an organized collaboration among the UMKC School of Medicine, the Institute for Human Development, and other partners within the UMKC Health Sciences District.
