A new program developed with support from the Department of Anesthesiology will help college students who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM) attend medical school and become physicians. Launched this fall, the program provides scholarships for local New York City college students to participate in an MCAT preparatory course while also providing a range of supportive services, including mentorship and strategies for successfully applying to medical school.
Montefiore Einstein Physicians Launch New Pathway Program to Support and Mentor Medical School Applicants from Underrepresented Groups
March 12, 2024
Tracey Straker, MD, MS, MPH, CBA
The program is being led by Tracey Straker, MD, MS, MPH, CBA, Vice Chair, Clinical Operations, Director, Advanced Airway Fellowship Program, Director, General Anesthesiology Division, and Officer, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Anesthesiology, Montefiore Einstein, and Professor, Anesthesiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Vice Chair, Committee on Professional Diversity, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), in partnership with Lynne M. Holden, MD, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine, Montefiore Einstein, and Professor, Emergency Medicine, and Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The American Society of Anesthesiologists is sponsoring the new program, and Medtronic—a healthcare technology company—is providing funding. The program targets students who have applied to medical school during the 2024 Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS®) cycle and evaluates applicants based on academic performance, an application essay and community service.
Lynne M. Holden, MD
Dr. Straker said the new “MCAT pathway program” was designed to specifically support males, who are disproportionately underrepresented among physicians, as well as other racial and ethnic groups that are underrepresented among other healthcare professionals.
“I’ve been involved in quite a few initiatives around the country and the city, and this is something that has been missing,” Dr. Straker said.
“There hasn’t been anything at the college level to support URiM students and specifically Black men. This program highlights the need for support at every ‘rung’ on the ladder to achievement and underscores a deficiency in the ladder at the college level for URiM students on the trajectory to becoming a physician.”
Tracey Straker, MD, MS, MPH, CBA
The program, which would typically cost about $3,000 per student, aims to start with an inaugural cohort of five to six college students from the Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program at the City University of New York. In addition to providing scholarships for an MCAT preparation course, participating students receive a range of holistic services including tutors for pre-med courses, wellness support, medical school application essay review and mock interview sessions.
Dr. Holden, who is partnering with Dr. Straker on the new initiative, has a breadth of experience in this area as co-founder and president emeritus of Mentoring in Medicine, Inc.—a nonprofit organization that provides mentorship and leadership development to underrepresented students on the career path to becoming medical professionals.
“Providing academic resources and mentorship to this underrepresented group in medicine is of critical importance to improving healthcare in the Bronx and beyond,” Dr. Holden said. “The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is delighted to work collaboratively to support Dr. Straker and the Department of Anesthesiology in this new endeavor.”
The resolution for the new program was presented to the ASA House of Delegates in October. Dr. Straker encourages Montefiore Einstein faculty to get involved in the committee or to apply for an ASA Mentoring Grant, of which several Montefiore Einstein faculty members have recently been recipients.
Dr. Straker stressed that tracking the success of program participants and evaluating the efficacy of the program will be an important tool for future expansion. Now that the program has been launched in New York, Dr. Straker plans to engage ASA colleagues across the country to further develop the program in different geographic areas.
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