URiM Student Experiences of Belonging and Mentorship in Medical Education

Introduction: Attrition rates of underrepresented racial/ethnic minority in medicine (URiM) students remain disproportionately higher than their non-URiM peers. Although medical school acceptance requires a demonstrated ability to manage the coursework, success in medical school reflects a complex interplay between learning new material and navigating the learning environment. This process is facilitated by self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and high-quality mentorship. We examined the sense of belonging and mentorship experiences of geographically diverse URiM and non-URiM medical students. 

Methods: We contacted the Deans of US medical schools to request survey deployment. Survey domains included URiM and sociodemographic status, characteristics of mentorship, and sense of belonging, using validated instruments. De-identified on-line surveys were returned directly to our center. We compared respondent groups using t-tests and chi-squared tests. 

Results: Responses from 253 students (13.3% URiM, 86.6% non-URiM) from 8/11 medical schools yielded 225 surveys for analysis. Compared to their counterparts, URiM students were more likely to be first-generation (40.0% vs 12.8%) and the first physician (86.6% vs 67.7%) in their families. No significant differences were found in the presence or frequency of mentorship between the groups. However, URiM students reported statistically significantly lower sense of belonging (M=3.30, SD=0.37) compared to non-URiM students (M=3.46, SD=0.34, p=0.02). A positive relationship between sense of belonging and peer mentorship was observed among all groups.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of interventions for improving URiM medical students' sense of belonging. Future research should explore effective strategies to improve mentorship quality and facilitate a more inclusive learning environment among URiM students.