national association of minority medical educators namme, northeast regional meeting
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National Association of Minority Medical Educators NAMME, Northeast Regional Meeting San Juan, Puerto Rico “Recruit, Reclaim, Retain” Am érica Facundo, PhD Professor, Internal Medicine Department University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine February 22, 2013 - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
National Association of Minority Medical EducatorsNAMME, Northeast Regional Meeting
San Juan, Puerto Rico
“Recruit, Reclaim, Retain”
América Facundo, PhDProfessor, Internal Medicine Department
University of Puerto Rico School of MedicineFebruary 22, 2013
Embassy Suites Hotel, Isla Verde, PR
Objectives
Examine the case of Puerto Rico as an example
Explore how the social determinants of “life” influence, facilitate or hinder outcomes
Explore the role of government agencies as obstacles in the education process
Define the target
Who are we recruiting
From what are we reclaiming
How can we retain
What outcomes can be expected
Who are we recruiting
Focused on disadvantaged backgrounds Public high schools By current public school standards, low English proficiency 91 % of schools do not fulfill basic academic
progress, according to the Puerto Rican academic proficiency exams and the
“No child left behind” standards. Lack of an academic culture
Who are we recruiting Teachers: quality is too variable, number is too
low, average salary $21,600 Hurry: between 2005 - 2011 > 17,574 students
left school to take the high school equivalency exam
Public high schools: low professional expectations
Physical education and arts are non existent in most schools
Social determinants 45% of the population living under poverty level
www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-01.pdf
1,600,000 out of 3.7 million qualify for state-paid health services (43%) and close to 60% for food stamps
300,000 have no health insurance
$16,300 average per capita salary in 2010 Unemployment: over 20% for most municipalities Sub-employment: unknown
385,000 “legally registered” firearms
Average murders per year: 1,200
Social determinants
Low educational level of parents and lack of motivation to get involved in children’s
education
Cell phones, social networks, electronic games
Consumption as a high value
Social Determinants Violence and crime Drug dealing is estimated to produce $1,500 per week
for adolescents
School Dropouts
Estimated in over 48.2% by social scientists
Department of Education claims not to have a “definition” of “school dropout”
Allegedly impossible to determine due to transfer to low cost private schools and to emigration to the U.S. (the Island’s population: 200,000 less in the 2010 census compared to year 2000)
Physical conditions of many of the public schools are deplorable (1,481 public schools)
Role of the Government
Secretary of Education is often appointed on the basis of political party affiliation, not credentials.
Budget: over $3.5 billion, for catastrophic results. Most of the budget is spent in payroll.
No libraries, computers, or web access in most schools
Excessive bureaucracy to justify the existence of excessive administrative employees.
Role of the Government Corruption
Secretary of Education: Victor Fajardo (1994-2000)
$4.3 million Illegally appropriated for his own profit and for his political party.
Confessed his crime on February 2002. Sentenced on December 11, 2002. Currently in prison in Georgia, with a 12 year sentence and order to restitute the stolen money.
Reclaim from what to what?
Reclaim from an adverse environment to provide orientation and motivation to continue studies, ideally in the health professions
Approximately 19% of the 110 students admitted each year to the UPR School of Medicine are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Another 15% are on the verge, compared to the majority of the class.
Literature indicates the same as for minorities in the U.S.: more willingness to serve communities similar to their own.
Strategies “Medicine and other Health Professions Clubs”
Club initiation activities
Recruitment Coordinator
Selection of some schools specialized in Science and Math to increase success rate
Study material with logos of the School of Medicine and the Campus as incentives and for a sense of belonging to the Clubs
University Gardens SchoolSpecialized in Math and Science
Strategies Visits to the Medical Sciences Campus
Most are to be first generation university students, no previous exposure to higher education
Establishment of networks with local primary care physicians and allied health professionals
On-site “health clinics” Surveys of their health topics interests On-site interactive presentations by our campus students on
the health topics selected Website Facebook
Strategies
Orientation on: Orientation on health careers, accounting for length of
time they take Financial aid
Counseling on how to maintain a solid academic record
Target are the University of Puerto Rico campuses…as opposed to the private colleges and universities
Summer Program offered by the Medical Sciences Campus for high school students
Recruitment Allies
Teachers of science, math, Spanish, English (and, if available, health) in the public school system
Medical and other health professions students
Faculty: medicine & other health professions
The Pledge to Become a Health Professional Ceremony
The Pledge to Become a Health Professional Ceremony
Target
Increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds that compete successfully for admision to medical or other health professions schools
Delineate a Recruitment Program that would be useful to other institutions
Increase the number of health professionals willing to serve the underserved
“Many small people, in small places,
doing small things, may change the world.”