Exploring the community cultural wealth of Black medical students who a completed post-baccalaureate study prior to admissions: a narrative study

Anna-Kay Thomas

doi:10.17918/00001373

Black students' overall admittance rate to medical school has remained consistent over the last 40 years and continues to lag behind that of other racial/ethnic groups (Association of American Medical Colleges [AAMC], 2021b). The persistent inequities in K-12 and higher education systems and historical exclusion of Blacks from medical education have impacted many aspiring Black doctors' abilities to matriculate without enrolling in post-baccalaureate programs, which adds time and cost. The purpose of this narrative study was to explore the stories of Black medical students who completed a post-baccalaureate program to improve their profile to gain admittance to medical school. The researcher sought to understand Black students' perception of their community cultural wealth (aspirational capital, familial capital, social capital, navigational capital, resistant capital, and linguistic capital; Yosso, 2005), including if/how community cultural wealth was employed to navigate their transitions to the dominant institutional structures of medical school, as well as the development of their professional identity. The overarching question that guided this study was: What stories do Black medical students who completed a post-baccalaureate premedical program tell about their capital and professional identity formation in medical school? Three sub-questions guided the study: (a) How do Black medical students who attended a post-baccalaureate program describe their need for the post-baccalaureate premedical program? (b) How do Black medical students who attended a post-baccalaureate premedical program describe their capital in medical school? (c)How do Black medical students who attended a post-baccalaureate premedical program describe their professional identity formation? The researcher conducted interviews and administered a demographic survey to seven participants. The major themes included the process of becoming, the evolution of self, and the weight of being Black in medicine. The study's findings, results, interpretation, and conclusions led to the development of three categories of recommendations. The first recommendation for practice is in the form of structure redesigned for the AAMC to improve equity based on the systemic issues within the education system. The second recommendation offers programmatic suggestions for institutions with linkage post-baccalaureate programs. The third is the recommendation for future research on post-baccalaureate programs. Collectively, these recommendations will improve the experience of Black students who attend post-baccalaureate programs and equity among all students, especially those who attend predominantly White institutions. Keywords: Black medical students, post-baccalaureate programs, community cultural wealth, social capital, narrative study.

Exploring the community cultural wealth of Black medical students who a completed post-baccalaureate study prior to admissions: a narrative study

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Exploring the community cultural wealth of Black medical students who a completed post-baccalaureate study prior to admissions: a narrative study

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