AAMC Reporter: November 2007

AspiringDocs.org Marks One-year Anniversary

People are talking about AspiringDocs.org.

Launched in October 2006, AspiringDocs.org is a campaign to increase diversity in medicine. The Aspiring Docs.org Web site, a free resource that provides various tools for potential medical students, is the central piece of the campaign and has already received more than 100,000 visits to the site. And participants say the campaign is generating some serious buzz.

According to Charles Terrell, Ed.D., vice president of the AAMC Division of Diversity Policy and Programs, AspiringDocs.org is an important part of the association’s goal of creating a more diverse medical workforce.

"We’re looking for AspiringDocs.org to encourage more African American, Latino or Latina, and Native American students to consider a career in medicine," Terrell said. "The Web site provides extra tools and wonderful information that answer questions about medical careers that some students might not otherwise be able to access."

Although it is too early to see whether AspiringDocs.org has helped encourage more minorities to apply for medical school, Terrell speculated that an increase should be visible within three years.

Students interested in becoming a physician can find information about medical career options, the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)®, medical school applications, financial aid, and application deadlines on the AspiringDocs.org site.

Of those registering for the site, 55 percent are from underrepresented minority groups, said Elisa K. Siegel, AAMC senior vice president for communications. A key attraction of the site for many students is its online community, she said. Through two features, "Ask the Experts" and "Hot Topics," students get personal answers to their questions from medical school experts and share their experiences with other "aspiring docs."

While knowledge of and use of AspiringDocs.org is growing, Siegel said advertising efforts are underway this year to spread the word to even more students. In addition to ads in college newspapers at the campaign’s four pilot sites—the University of Arizona, the University of Pittsburgh, California State University- Fresno, and Rutgers University—the AAMC is also mounting an online advertising campaign to reach African American, Latino and Latina, and Native American college students through social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. AspiringDocs.org advertising will also target historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic-servicing institutions, and tribal colleges.

AspiringDocs.org has also revealed one of the biggest ways students might be attracted to a medical career. If they see themselves mirrored in a current medical professional, a light switch can flip on, opening their minds to a medical vocation they might not have previously considered.

This is the case at the University of Arizona, where AspiringDocs.org launched last year. The university has adapted information and publicity materials provided by the AAMC to include local role models from underserved and underrepresented minority groups. According to Linda Don, M.Ed., director of diversity and workforce development initiatives at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, many students have asked questions about medical careers simply based on the professionals they see working in their community. "Our students find the role model stories to be very compelling, engaging, and inspiring," Don said." Many are stories of struggle, and some students can identify with that. They realize that if someone else like them can succeed in a health career, then they can achieve that goal, as well."

In addition to finding healthcare providers to emulate, potential medical students also find other features of AspiringDocs.org to be helpful. Some keep track of important events, such as MCAT exam dates or deadlines associated with the AAMC’s American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS®).

Student reactions are overwhelmingly positive, said Paula Davis, assistant dean of admissions, financial aid, and diversity at the University of Pittsburgh. Many are grateful that medical career resources exist on their campus, and Pittsburgh plans to add more resources. This year, the school will pair medical student mentors with undergraduates interested in medical careers.

Davis said she would eventually like to see mentorship become a required service activity for medical students. This fall, California State University-Fresno and Rutgers University held several events to raise awareness of the AspiringDocs.org campaign. In October, Terrell was a key speaker at a Fresno news conference promoting the program. Advisors and faculty members also distribute AspiringDocs.org materials to students during one-on one meetings. At Rutgers, AAMC staffers distributed AspiringDocs.org information in September during an academic diversity student orientation and a meeting of Access Med, a program for underrepresented students interested in medicine who have completed their first year biology and chemistry courses.

Overall, Davis predicted the AspiringDocs.org campaign will prompt a rise in medical school applications, resulting in a higher yield of qualified applicants to medical school. But she also sees a need to reach out to pre-college students to prompt them to think about medical careers early and sketch their academic plan appropriately.

"We need to get pre-college students thinking about classes and careers in the health sciences," Davis said. "If we can catch high school students or minority students who might attend community colleges before transferring to four-year universities, we can help them get a strong foundation and health sciences structure underneath them. If we start early, we can grow a strong, diverse medical workforce."

—By Madeleine Evans, special to the Reporter

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