Addressing the urban pipeline challenge for the physician workforce: the Sophie Davis model

The convergence of numerous trends indicates that a physician shortage by 2020 is likely. There is a 25% growth in the overall population, but that of the college-age sector is increasing by only 5%. The numbers of African Americans and Latinos in that sector will increase more than will members of other population groups; these two groups are most affected by the uneven quality of science education in urban high schools. Challenges to create a pipeline of a large, diverse, and qualified pool of medical school applicants are great, and are influenced by the actual and perceived cost of medical school tuition and the competition from other professions. Since 1973, the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, a seven-year joint BS/MD program, has expanded access to medical school education for talented inner-city youths, including minorities and those with limited financial resources. Students receive a BS degree and their first two years of medical school education and, upon successful completion of the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1, transfer to one of five cooperating medical schools in New York State that confer the terminal MD degree. Sophie Davis integrates medical studies in the baccalaureate program, using actual performance in medical studies as a predictor of success. Of the more than 1,400 of its graduates, 25% are African American, 8% are Latino, 28% are Asian American, and 39% are white. Over 25% of its current student body comes from federally defined low-income families, and almost three-quarters qualify for New York State financial aid. The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education is a model that offers a partial response to those factors that will challenge the achievement of an adequate supply of physicians for our urban communities. The author describes the model in detail and explains how it helps talented but unevenly educated students rise to the challenge of a medical education.