MMA1 Comparison of a career planning workshop evaluation from a sample of minority medical school students with that of respondents nationwide. (Medical Management & Administration).

MMA1 COMPARISON OF A CAREER PLANNING WORKSHOP EVALUATION FROM A SAMPLE OF MINORITY MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH THAT OF RESPONDENTS NATIONWIDE. Traci N. Gray, Edna W. Lockert, PhD, Roscoe C. Young, Jr., MD, MSPH, and Joseph E. Hinds, MD, PhD. Department of Medical Education, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.

The Glaxo-Wellcome Pathway Evaluation Program for Medical Professionals is a process that enables students entering the health care professions to make the best possible choice in selecting postgraduate specialty training by providing guidance to students in making a career selection. It is standardized, interactive, and guided by pretrained facilitators. Responses of Meharry Medical College (MMC) students to the 20-question survey instrument were compared with students nationwide. Results showed similarity of satisfaction with the program for Meharry students and students nationwide with only few exceptions. Meharry students thought the workshop met expectations, and more MMC students thought the practice profile exercise was useful. However, fewer believed the booklet was useful. Also, MMC students were more likely to prefer increased group interaction as part of the program. Despite Meharry's unique mission and racial and ethnic composition, there is a similarity of satisfaction among all students in the p rogram. Continued comparison of Meharry Medical students' satisfaction with the Pathways Program and that of respondents from other medical schools might be of value in determining whether the program meets the needs of Meharry students. It might also serve as a benchmark in correlating the schools future success in matching graduates in postgraduate residency training programs.