Illuminating the path

Second-year medical student Kassandra Jean-Marie was a freshman at UMass Amherst before she saw a doctor who looked like her. Now she is studying to become a doctor, thanks in part to a program launched 10 years ago for students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds who hope to help meet the health care needs of diverse patient populations in Massachusetts. The UMass Baccalaureate MD Pathway Program (BaccMD) helps prepare these students for successful matriculation to medical school.

“As women in STEM, we have these really big dreams when we’re younger. But as we get older, a lot of times we feel like we can’t do it, because we don’t see a lot of women in STEM careers,” said Jean-Marie, a Massachusetts native with Haitian-born parents.

The program is currently open to students at the undergraduate UMass campuses who are from racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine nationally and in Massachusetts; who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds; or who are first-generation college graduates.

Paul Charles is the project coordinator for the T.H. Chan School of Medicine’s Office of Admissions and co-director of the BaccMD program, along with Mariann Manno, MD, professor of pediatrics and former associate dean for admissions, who continues her role in this program. Charles was part of the creation of the program in 2012 and has seen its growth from a 12-student cohort then to a 25-student cohort today. Of the 118 students accepted into the program as secondyear college students since its inception, 78 have earned their undergraduate degrees, with 19 matriculating to UMass Chan and four to other medical schools.

“We’ve had students who’ve gone on to pursue careers in dentistry, physical therapy—even a student who went on to become a lawyer. Making sure that students figure out what their correct path is and helping them get there is, I think, a success for the program,” Charles said.

Interested UMass sophomores apply to the BaccMD program after their fall semester. Then in the summer between their sophomore and junior years, admitted students, deemed “Medical Scholars,” learn about careers in medicine and the medical school admissions process; take a practice Medical College Admissions Test; and meet with UMass Chan faculty, students and staff during the four-week residential Summer Enrichment Program.

During their junior year, students participate in their first mock admission interviews and have the opportunity to apply for provisional acceptance to UMass Chan. They are also encouraged to take part in monthly book club meetings.

“Many students think all you have to do is have good grades to get into medical school,” Charles said. “One of the things that we’ve noticed doing these outreach programs is students don’t necessarily read for fun. The MCAT that came out in 2015 has a critical analysis reasoning section. That tends to be a really tough section for our firstgeneration college students. So it’s important that we promote reading and building their vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.”

In the summer, rising seniors take part in the Summer Clinical Immersion Experience. Students spend two days a week in clinical settings at UMass Memorial Medical Center or health centers in Worcester. Jean-Marie, for example, visited health centers in Worcester and interacted with the refugee population that she hopes to serve as a physician.

“UMass Chan felt like home before I had even taken my MCAT because the classes we took were here,” Jean-Marie said.

Anthony Tran, MD’19, was in the BaccMD program’s first cohort.

“It didn’t feel like a dream come true until you actually stepped foot on campus,” said Dr. Tran, a firstgeneration college graduate and the son of Vietnamese immigrants who didn’t complete middle school. “Spending that first summer and second summer at the Medical School—it really made you feel like you were part of something achievable.”

The Dorchester native enrolled at the Medical School after graduating from UMass Boston with a degree in biochemistry in 2015. Tran, who is in the adult neurology residency program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is one of seven BaccMD and UMass Chan graduates who are currently in residency programs.

BaccMD students can apply to UMass Chan during their senior year, but in many cases, Charles says, he recommends students take a gap year.

“The worst thing that they can do is come to medical school and become burned out, or feel like they’re unprepared,” Charles said, pointing to a 2019 survey from the Association of American Medical Colleges that found 44 percent of 2019 medical students chose to take a gap year or two between completing their undergraduate degrees and matriculating into medical school.

As the BaccMD program has grown over the past decade, it has also evolved. Students no longer need to apply early decision to UMass Chan. Also, Charles has created a gap year plan for students who need to spend more time studying for the MCAT or bolstering their applications. Charles has worked to schedule regular MCAT tutoring sessions for undergraduates as well as students in their gap years.

Another big enhancement came from the Medical Scholars themselves. Nisarg Chhaya, MD’18, developed a mentorship program matching Medical Scholars with second-year medical students for his capstone project. Five years in, this aspect of the program is now one of its cornerstones.

Karen Ghobrial, a Medical Scholar and a senior at UMass Lowell, said she had texts waiting for her from her three UMass Chan student mentors when she finished taking the MCAT. Ghobrial was born in Egypt and is the first person in her family to show an interest in the medical field.

“I don’t really have a role model to look up to or ask questions. So that’s where the BaccMD program comes in. I can easily shoot them an email and say, ‘Hey, I have a question on this. How do I do this? Or do you have any advice on this?’” Ghobrial said.

Ghobrial has applied to UMass Chan and is hoping to join Jean- Marie and the other BaccMD alumni on campus in the fall. ■

By Colleen Locke