Enhancing Equity in a Widening Participation Scheme for School Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training Equity
• Widening Participation Initiatives

Background:

• Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) Diversity Review 2021 highlighted barriers for ethnic minority students in surgery.
• Gloucestershire, a disadvantaged county, lacks existing widening participation (WP) schemes.
• Inequity in accessing medical work experience disproportionately affects underrepresented groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement an inclusive WP scheme in Gloucestershire to enhance work experience equity.
• To provide accessible virtual and face-to-face opportunities for aspiring medical students.
• To address barriers identified by the RCS Diversity Review for disadvantaged students.

Main Methods:

• A three-stage project included virtual Q&A sessions, virtual student-patient conversations, and face-to-face work experience.
• The initiative targeted all 58 secondary schools (state and private) in Gloucestershire.
• Distribution of information ensured broad accessibility to school-aged students.

Main Results:

• 129 participants attended virtual Q&A sessions; 56% were from ethnic minority backgrounds, and 26% lacked university-educated family members.
• Virtual student-patient conversations were highly rated (10/10 usefulness) by 91% female and 45% ethnic minority participants.
• Face-to-face work experience engaged 50% of participants from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Conclusions:

• The WP scheme demonstrated success in engaging diverse student populations, including those from ethnic minority and lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Targeted outreach, varied work experience formats (virtual/face-to-face), and universal accessibility are key to promoting equity in medical education.
• Further development of WP schemes is crucial to overcome barriers and improve exposure to surgical and medical careers for underrepresented students.