A Framework for Inclusion: Fostering Representation in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Beyond Through Dedicated Mentorships and Workshops

PROBLEM: The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has urged actions to promote inclusivity in medical education for historically underrepresented groups. Studies suggest that underrepresentation may be addressed through structured mentorship and workshops at the pre-medical level and generate interest in less familiar specialties including physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R). APPROACH: The authors implemented a novel half-day multi-institutional workshop in spring 2024 featuring physicians and medical students from New York City medical centers. The workshop included structured mentorship and pertinent PM&R-related topics, including disability health and adaptive sports, to which pre-medical students often have limited exposure. Participants were invited to complete pre- and post-workshop surveys to evaluate the workshop's impact. The authors collaborated with pre-health chapters of organizations such as the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) and the Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (MAPS) to distribute surveys. OUTCOMES: The pre-workshop survey was completed by 147 pre-medical students, and 81 registered for the workshop. Ultimately, 55 attended the workshop, with 71% completing the post-workshop survey. Most participants had no previous exposure to PM&R (n = 77, 53.5%) and to adaptive sports (n = 116, 80.6%). Furthermore, although 76 (52.8%) had shadowed a physician, only 6 (4.2%) had experience shadowing a PM&R physician. The authors gathered a diverse representation of responses, including those identifying as female (n = 119, 81.0%) and underrepresented in medicine (n = 84, 57.1%). Pre-post comparative analysis showed a statistically significant rise in students' motivation to apply to medical school (P = .018), along with a statistically significant increase in the interest and understanding of PM&R and adaptive sports (P < .001). NEXT STEPS: Future work will focus on developing longitudinal mentorship, improving accessibility through hybrid formats, and expanding the curriculum through interspecialty collaborations to support broader implementation and evaluation.