Supports and obstacles in the medical school application process for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE: This study examines how a wide range of supports and obstacles are associated with the medical school admissions process of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs), an under-studied population. METHOD: All AI/AN applicants to the University of Washington School of Medicine during the 2002-2004 admissions cycles were sent a mail-in survey with numerical and open-ended items. We analyzed admissions data for all 107 applicants and data on supports and obstacles for 34 survey respondents. RESULTS: Compared with respondents accepted by at least one medical school, rejected respondents were older, more often were parents, submitted fewer applications, and reported receiving less support for the medical school application process. Obstacles included difficulty with the Medical College Admission Test, insufficient finances, and poor information about the process. CONCLUSION: A conceptual framework that considers both supports and obstacles in the medical school application process will improve our understanding of the needs of AI/AN applicants.

Author information

Author/s: Patterson, Davis G (DG); Baldwin, Laura-Mae (LM); Olsen, Polly M (PM);

Affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA. dpatterson(-atsign-)fammed.washington.edu

Grants: 5U79HP00003–05 (Agency:PHS HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Journal: Journal of health care for the poor and underserved (J Health Care Poor Underserved), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-May; vol 20 (issue 2) : pp 308-29

Dates: Created 2009/04/27; Completed 2009/06/30;

PMID: 19395832, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/30/2009, IMS Date: 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.