To Enhance the Exposure and Recruitment of Underrepresented Students to Health Professional Programs at McGill University

The Widening Participation Committee (WPC) is mandated by the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences’s Office of Social Accountability and Community Engagement (SACE) to develop, implement, and monitor programs and initiatives aimed at increasing the participation of under-represented populations in the application processes of McGill’s health professional programs. The entrance surveys indicated that four communities, namely, First Nations students, Black students, learners from lower socio-economic backgrounds and from rural areas of Quebec are underrepresented in McGill's health professional programs.

A brief project description of HOP, ECH, AIH and MMH can be found below. For the specific plan of 2023- 2025, please refer to the section of "Planned Activities".

Health Outreach Projects (HOP)

HOP organizes the “Health professional for a day’’ at Shriner Children's Hospital. This event is free and include interactive presentations to elementary and high school students on careers in healthcare. During the event, students spend approximately one hour with volunteers from each of healthcare professional programs. Hands-on workshops are designed to spark interest in the students and encourage them to pursue careers in healthcare. The event is 1-day long and repeats four times every April/ May. Recruitment targets include Indigenous youth, Black students and learners from lower socio-economic backgrounds and rural communities.

Explore! Careers in Health Projects (ECH)

ECH is an award-winning annual outreach program offered to high school students interested in health sciences. ECH is organized by a team of over 50 student volunteers from Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry and Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at McGill. The ECH program is free for participants. Specifically, the ECH camp is designed to demystify and make accessible the idea of a career in health professions to youth from under-represented groups in age ranges of 14 to 17 (Grades 9 to 11).

ECH is a three-day summer camp held in both French and English on McGill campuses with focuses on the health professions: medicine, nursing, dentistry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language therapy, genetics and pharmacology. To date, more than 400 high-school students has participated the ECH. Recruitment targets are high school students from underrepresented backgrounds (rural and students of low socioeconomic status in particular) with an ancillary goal of promoting collaboration among future healthcare professionals.

Academic Immersion in Healthcare (AIH)

AIH aims to immerse students from underprivileged areas in a realistic acute healthcare simulation to inspire them in pursuing a health-related career. In the past, AIH hosts a half-day hands-on introductory suture and ultrasound sessions in high schools around Greater Montreal area. The target students are those of underprivileged areas and underrepresented ethnic groups that are in their 3rd, 4th or 5th year of high school since this is the period at which they are at the highest risk of dropping out.

McGill Mentorships in Healthcare (MMH)

MMH is designed to offer longitudinal mentorship and skill-building workshops for CEGEP students from backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in health professional programs at McGill University. Spearheaded by students who are currently enrolled in health-related programs at McGill and who identify with one or more of underrepresented groups (Black, Indigeneous, rural/ small population center, lower socioeconomic background), MMH aims to foster strength and build resilience in CEGEP students by facilitating mentoring relationships that are based on similarly lived experiences, and by providing workshops on individual development planning and personal, academic, and professional skill-building. The goal of MMH is to nurture the potential of students from underrepresented groups by ensuring they receive optimal exposure and targeted support during critical periods in their personal and academic lives.