Medical school outreach and mentorship for rural secondary school students: a pilot of the Southwestern Ontario Medical Mentorship Program

摘要

Introduction: Rural communities in Canada face challenges with physician recruitment. Physicians from rural backgrounds are more likely to practise in rural areas; however, rural students are underrepresented in medical schools. To address this, the Southwestern Ontario Medical Mentorship Program (SWOMMP) was created to expose rural secondary school students to medical careers. Methods: This pilot project involved a school-based interactive session run by rural medical students on paths to medicine, medical specialties and skills workshops of roughly 2.5 hours targeted to grades 10-12 university-level students in rural southwestern Ontario. Two sessions were held, 1 in a town with a population of 20 000 and the other in a town with a population of 5000. A survey was administered before and after the session to assess changes in interest in medical careers and in perceived barriers.