Understanding how Medical Students Make Meaning of their Rural First-Generation Identity and Medical School Experiences Using an Ecological Systems Framework

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 7:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring Identity Formation: Underrepresented Learners' Experiences in the Professons

Abstract

Physician workforce diversity is critical for a diverse patient population. Students from rural backgrounds are underrepresented (5%) in medical school despite the rural US population (20%). Using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, we examined how 12 medical students make meaning of their rural first-generation identity and medical school experiences through semi-structured interviews. Content analysis using hybrid, deductive-inductive coding revealed themes at nested levels: microsystem (e.g.--limited social capital), mesosystem (e.g.--conflicting demands between home and school environments), exosystem (e.g.--community and extended family as career inspiration), and macrosystem (e.g.--cultural dissonance between medicine and rural upbringing). Institutional recommendations include setting up support to meet the unique needs of this population and acknowledging their unique life experiences.

Authors

• Devasmita Chakraverty, Indian Institute of Management

• Catie Havemann, University of North Carolina, Dept of Emergency Medicine

• Hannah L'Etoile, Brown University

• Lala Forrest, Yale University

• Brianna De Oliveira, Tufts University

• Nicole O'Neal, New England Board of Higher Education

• Hyacinth R.C. Mason, Tufts University

• Mytien Nguyen, Yale University

• Tasha R. Wyatt, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

• Dowin H. Boatright, New York University