Exploring the Community Cultural Wealth of Black Medical School Students Who Required Post-Baccalaureate Study Prior to Admissions: A Narrative Study

• In Event: Reconsidering Diversity in Admissions: Strength-Based Approaches in a Post-Affirmative Action World

Abstract

Despite diversity initiatives of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the enrollment of medical school Black matriculated candidates has not increased beyond 9% in the last 40 years (Morris et al., 2021). One initiative the AAMC has supported focuses on pipeline programs, including post-baccalaureate premedical programs (PBPP) (Andriole et al.,2011). This paper discusses the findings and results from a narrative study that explored the stories of Black medical students who completed a PBPP to improve their profile to gain admittance to medical school. The inquiry focused on understanding Black students' perceptions of their community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) and how they employed it in the development of their professional identities and to navigate the dominant institutional structures of medical school.

Authors

• Anna-Kay Thomas, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University

• Deanna Hill, Drexel University