Improving College Readiness Through a High School Surgery Exposure Program

Racial and ethnic minorities remain significantly underrepresented in the health care workforce. Despite ongoing efforts, gains in representation have been limited and the disparity widens across successive stages of medical training. Early interventions are essential to empower underrepresented minority students interested in health care with the tools to navigate the educational path toward health careers. This study evaluated whether a three-session college preparatory course could influence the attitudes and perceived preparedness for college among high school students enrolled in a medical and surgical exposure program.

Seventy-nine 10th grade students participated in a three-session workshop. Preintervention and postintervention surveys were administered using a modified version of the validated College-Going Self-Efficacy Scale and College Planning Behaviors Scale. Paired presurvey and postsurvey data were analyzed using student's t-tests and Fisher's exact tests, with statistical significance defined as P < 0.05.

Forty-four students (56%) completed both surveys. Postintervention, more students had researched the college application process (P = 0.02), college costs (P < 0.01), and identified someone to answer their college-related questions (P < 0.01). Students also reported increased confidence in choosing a good college (P = 0.01) and belief in their academic ability to finish college (P = 0.02).

This is the first study to assess and improve college planning attitudes and behaviors in high school students participating in a surgery exposure program. This suggests that integrating college preparation into health care exposure programs may better support students' educational advancement. Future work should examine whether these improvements lead to increased college application and matriculation rates.