BACKGROUND

Community partnerships during residency training may provide valuable educational experiences for resident physicians ¹ and may help generate interest in health care career pathways while reducing barriers for youth.² This project aimed to address barriers to entering health care careers by directly engaging high school–aged youth through incorporation of community engagement experiences into residency curricula. The study sought to evaluate high school students’ interests and perceptions regarding health care careers and their understanding of the role of family medicine resident physicians. In addition, the project evaluated how family medicine residents perceived the impact of community engagement on their own educational experience.

METHODS

Using a pre–post study design, confidential surveys were distributed to students enrolled in a sports medicine class at Hillsboro High School and to family medicine residents at Hillsboro Medical Center during three interactive educational workshops. Workshops were facilitated by family medicine residents on-site at Hillsboro High School. Each session covered a different topic. The first session was a question-and-answer discussion in which students asked about resident physicians’ paths into medicine, recommendations for college classes or majors, volunteer and service opportunities, the breadth of family medicine, and the day-to-day work of a resident physician. Additional workshops included sessions on suturing and point-of-care ultrasound.

Pre- and post-surveys were administered to students and residents before and after the workshop series. For students, survey items assessed interest, attitudes, and perceived barriers to health care careers as well as understanding of the scope of family medicine. For residents, survey items assessed perceptions of how community engagement might enhance residency education. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 30.

RESULTS

A total of 58 students completed the pre-workshop surveys and 55 completed the post-workshop surveys. There was a statistically significant increase in agreement with the statements “I have met a resident physician/doctor” and “I know what a resident physician does.” Students also demonstrated an overall increase in knowledge regarding the scope of family medicine and the steps required to pursue a health care career.

Seventeen family medicine residents completed the pre-workshop surveys and 15 completed the post-workshop surveys. Although most increases were not statistically significant, there was an overall increase in agreement with statements indicating that community engagement (1) helps residents better understand the community, (2) is an important part of residency training, and (3) is enriching to residents who participate. The only statistically significant increase agreed with the statement, “During residency, I have volunteered or participated in community service.” 

DISCUSSION

This collaboration between a local high school and family medicine resident physicians was developed to assess the impact of community engagement on both students and residents. Student pre–post survey results demonstrated increased knowledge of health care career pathways, family medicine scope of practice, and the roles of resident physicians. Resident survey results showed overall agreement that community engagement is valuable for understanding the community and enriching residency training. These findings suggest that this model may be a promising approach to connecting youth with resident physicians while enhancing resident education.

Dr Bruno and Dr Huynh are graduates of the OHSU Hillsboro Family Medicine Residency and participated in this project during their second and third years of training. Dr Nordling served as the residency program director, and Ms Rdesinski is a member of the research team in the Department of Family Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University.

REFERENCES

1. Lochner J, Lankton R, Rindfleish K, Arndt B, Edgoose J. Transforming a family medicine residency into a community-oriented learning environment. Fam Med. 2018;50(7):518-525. doi:10.22454/FamMed.2018.118276
2. Wilkins CH, Alberti PM. Shifting academic health centers from a culture of community service to community engagement and integration. Acad Med. 2019;94(6):763-767. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002711