ABSTRACT
SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: In response to the need for innovative community engagement and pre-medical education, the COVID-19 STEM Community Education and Empowerment Internship program (CCEEI) was developed as a collaboration between six New York City medical schools and Mentoring in Medicine, a non-profit organization. This virtual program was attended by 1045 underrepresented in medicine (UriM), first-generation, and disadvantaged college and gap year students who were interested in medical and health careers, over the first three cohorts. Participants learned about COVID-19 and disparities, vaccine science, the roles of medicine and public health, and strategies for community education and empowerment. 1045 U.S. based students participated over three cohorts as well as additional students from around the world. DESCRIPTION: 4-8 sessions, each 2-4 hours long, each of which consisted of lectures (e.g. virology and pandemics, COVID-19 biology and prevention, how vaccines work, etc.) followed by interactive discussions. Learner assessment included mid-point survey, end of program survey, and post-30 day survey, and capstone projects presented during the final session of the program;capstones were intended to raise awareness of COVID-19 safety measures and vaccines to a lay audience. Examples included Tik Tok videos, infographics, PowerPoint presentations, etc. Each student received a certificate of acknowledgment for their participation in the COVID-19 STEM Education and Empowerment Internship. EVALUATION: Recruiting efforts were successful in providing this premedical program available to students from URiM backgrounds, 55% identified as Black or Latino and 97% were interested in health professional careers. Program evaluation consisted of aggregate learner assessments and administration of a mixed-method survey seeking participant perspectives. Program participants applied knowledge they gained and self-reported outreach to at least 13,499 people in their communities on COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination. Most frequent modes of communication included: TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. DISCUSSION / REFLECTION / LESSONS LEARNED: Program adjustments including curriculum changes were made based on mid-point, end-of-course, and post-surveys. There was an overwhelming response from students wanting to gain knowledge and be a part of outreach efforts to impact their communities. In the first session, many students shared in their e-poster personal impacts of COVID, ranging from loss of family and friends, and isolation experienced. There is much promise in reaching pre-medical students through a virtual education program as students reported gaining communication skills to address myths and vaccine hesitancy and felt empowered to use technology to share knowledge gained from the program with their networks.