Student Medical Education Masterclasses: Diversifying the Academic Pipeline

Background
There remains a lack of diversity among those pursuing clinical academic careers. Structural inequalities, discrimination and a paucity of relatable role models can disadvantage minoritised students, hindering their educational experiences and career opportunities. Innovative and effective approaches are needed at an undergraduate level to address this problem, ensuring the pipeline is representative, diverse and inclusive.

Approach
To help address this challenge, in 2021, we developed a free online ‘medical education masterclass series’ for 250 UK medical students, with students from minoritised backgrounds particularly encouraged to apply. The masterclasses explored topical themes in medical education through seminars and workshops featuring diverse guest speakers.

Evaluation
To evaluate the programme, students were invited to submit an anonymised reflection and complete a semi-structured interview exploring how their perceptions of medical education may have changed following attendance of the masterclasses. A total of 18% responded, and data were thematically analysed.

Results
Students reflected on how the sessions broadened their understanding of medical education beyond their own curriculum experiences. Students described acquiring skills and building networks to further develop their interest in medical education. The desire to make medical education more inclusive was identified as a key priority for students, and students felt empowered to advocate for positive change within their own institutions.

Implications
Providing students with opportunities to explore medical education through such masterclasses has the potential to raise awareness and address some of the barriers experienced by minoritised students. We would advocate for similar initiatives to be developed in other clinical academic areas to increase diversity.