When Salima Ramdani was still in high school she came to 平特五不中 for a few days to get an idea of what health professionals do.
鈥淭he camp changed my future,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 learned about the different health programs and exchanged ideas with counsellors. Seeing a diverse volunteer team, I could picture myself here.鈥�
Today she is a medical student at 平特五不中, where she makes time in her busy schedule to inspire the next generation of students.
Across Canada and beyond,听. 平特五不中 is听no exception.
Students like Ramdani in the听Faculty of Medicine听and the听Faculty of Dentistry听are playing a crucial role in efforts to have a more representative student body in 平特五不中鈥檚 health professional programs.
Over the past 10 years, to better understand who is enrolling in its undergraduate medical education program, the Faculty of Medicine has been surveying incoming students. Since 2017, the questionnaires are also given to new students in other health professional programs, including dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology.
Results showed that Indigenous and Black students were underrepresented in 平特五不中鈥檚 health programs, as were students from low-income families and rural areas with small populations.
平特五不中 has taken steps to remedy the imbalance, but the work continues, especially since the Faculty of Medicine has set higher diversity targets starting in 2022.
Students for change
Ramdani and fellow students are themselves tackling underrepresentation.
Three 平特五不中 student-run programs reach out to younger students, most of whom are still in high school, offering mentorship and hands-on experiences of various health professions.
The programs are affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine鈥檚听Social Accountability and Community Engagement Office, and its听Widening Participation Committee, which is concerned with increasing diversity, equity and inclusiveness in the Faculty.
Dr. Nicole Li-Jessen, chair of the Widening Participation Committee, emphasizes how important the students are to the Committee鈥檚 work.
鈥淭hey are so passionate and motivated,鈥� says Dr. Li-Jessen, who is also an assistant professor in the听School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. 鈥淭hey bring the student point of view so we can tailor our efforts. As professors, we can be quite idealistic and removed. They provide perspective, impressions, feelings 鈥� what the students really need. Their interaction with the generation below them is very useful for shaping the program.鈥�
鈥淭he students are our greatest ambassadors,鈥� agrees Dr. Saleem Razack, Director of the Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 Social Accountability and Community Engagement Office and a professor of听Pediatrics听at 平特五不中. 鈥淲hat we do is provide the scaffolding. That鈥檚 how we work together. The students are nearer to these younger students we鈥檙e trying to attract. They鈥檙e really in the best place to help us with recruitment.鈥�
Hands-on experience
Each summer 平特五不中鈥檚听听hosts high school students from low socioeconomic schools to get a hands-on experience of what different health professionals do day-to-day.
Explore! began as an afternoon event but has become a two-night, three-day summer camp. With a nine-student executive, current co-presidents and medical students Jessica Hier and Salima Ramdani have ambitious goals for the initiative.
Explore! is planning to add a follow-up event in the fall, focused on making participants competitive applicants to health professional programs. They鈥檙e also working to establish a mentorship program that would match each high school student from the summer camp with a student in a healthcare profession program at 平特五不中, as well as a newsletter to engage parents.
鈥淕oing to the (Explore!) camp made me realize this could be my reality,鈥� says Ramdani, now in her second year of medical school. She鈥檚 passionate about sharing what a career as a health professional can give students.
鈥淭hey have the power to do great things, in the health care field and beyond. We鈥檙e showing them the different ways they could do so,鈥� she says.
鈥淭his is something I can do too鈥�
A second program,听Health Outreach Projects (HOP),听sends 平特五不中 student volunteers to school career days around Montreal, and organizes Health Professional for a Day events.
鈥淎s a student, as a young kid, you go to the doctor, you want to see someone who鈥檚 like you,鈥� says Maria Gueorguieva, who is co-president of HOP with fellow Dentistry student Jiayi Li. The co-presidents and their executive are planning many of the same expansions as Explore!
Li became especially interested in diversity when she learned from a research project that while there are more women graduating from dental schools, it will take more time for those women to reach leadership roles in areas such as universities and professional associations.
鈥淢ore women in dentistry, more people from different backgrounds, will encourage more people to say, 鈥楾his is something I can do too,鈥欌�� says Li.
The importance of support
The newest initiative,, works with community groups to provide mentors to local high school students, and hosts popular community events.
When SYBS co-founders Lashanda Skerritt and Clement B茅langer Bishinga arrived at 平特五不中, they started thinking and talking about how it was they had come to 平特五不中鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine.
鈥淚 was realizing that if you don鈥檛 have the support, it鈥檚 really difficult to see yourself in the program, and to make yourself competitive for a program that鈥檚 really difficult to get into,鈥� says Skerritt.
SYBS provides that kind of support through its mentorship program, community events and discussion panels. As part of the mentorship program, mentees attend regular workshops to gain exposure to clinical skills.
From the start, SYBS has worked with community groups in Montreal, including听the 听and听, which have experience mentoring young people as well as connections to students who may benefit from a mentorship program like SYBS.
Last fall SYBS held an event with black health professionals.
鈥淲e did touch on underrepresentation, barriers, racism and systemic problems, but there was also a positive message 鈥� if you鈥檙e interested in helping people, doing social justice work and caring for patients, you can find a rewarding career in health care,鈥� says Skerritt.
Diversity in experience
鈥淧art of the work we鈥檙e doing is to be more conscious about the fact that there are a lot of different types of experiences that we don鈥檛 look at the same way,鈥� says Skerritt.
She points out that not everyone can afford to participate in the activities that are popular for students applying to competitive health programs, like going abroad to work with disadvantaged populations, which in many cases is voluntary.
HOP, Explore! and SYBS are looking at other ways for young people to have the kind of experiences valued by an admissions office 鈥� perhaps through a shadowing program, where teenagers will work alongside a health student or professional.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to have important conversations about other ways people might show how they鈥檙e engaged in their community,鈥� says Skerritt.
Widening participation, measuring impact
The Faculty of Medicine鈥檚 Widening Participation Committee is launching a longitudinal study to measure the impact of these student-run programs.
A new questionnaire will gather data on how participation in these programs increases interest in a health profession, and to what extent that translates into application and admission, at 平特五不中 or elsewhere.
The goal is to pilot the study with this summer鈥檚 Explore! Careers in Health camp cohort.
鈥淲e know from our surveys that we have students from underrepresented groups who participated in our programs,鈥� says Dr. Razack. 鈥淭he pathway programs are working, but we want more details.鈥�
The students are keen to work on the longitudinal study. 鈥淲e want to see what the impact is,鈥� says HOP鈥檚 co-president Gueorguieva. 鈥淲e enjoy doing this, but we want to make the most of our time and efforts.鈥�
听