VENTURES IN EDUCATION - A PIPELINE TO MEDICAL-EDUCATION FOR MINORITY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED-STUDENTS

Background. Ventures In Education is an independent, nonprofit educati onal organization established by the Josiah H. Macy, Jr. Foundation to improve the academic achievement of minority and economically disadva ntaged students, particularly in science and mathematics. One specific objective has been to increase the number of students who enter schoo ls of the health professions, in particular schools of medicine, which was the focus of this study. Method. A search was conducted of the As sociation of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC's) Student and Applicant Information Management System database, to determine whether any of t he 981 graduates in the first five Ventures classes (1985 to 1989) of the original five New York City high schools in the program had pursue d medical education. Results. The search located 160 of the 981 Ventur es graduates, and, of those, 136 had taken the Medical College Admissi on Test (13.9%), 109 (11.1%) had applied to medical school, 75 (7.6%) had been accepted, and 72 (7.3%) had matriculated into medical school. All of these percentages were significantly higher than the correspon ding percentages for the general population. Conclusion. The findings have important implications for the AAMC's Project 3000 by 2000, showi ng that a rigorous academic curriculum with resources for individualiz ed attention can facilitate the entry of minority and economically dis advantaged students into medical education, with at least 7.3% of the Ventures graduates entering medical school and nearly 70% of those app lying subsequently being accepted.