Abstract Title: 
Disability Connect: A Unique, Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program at the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS)

Background: 
Mentorship programs supporting underrepresented racial/ethnic minority students at the University of Michigan exist and improve representation in academic medicine. No program or literature currently exists for near-peer, medical student-only mentorship programs for those who identify as having a disability, at UMMS or nationally. There is a need for such mentorship, given the rise in disability disclosure occurring throughout medical schools nationally. Disability Connect aimed to fill this void.

Methods: 
Disability Connect is a voluntary, near-peer mentoring program, started in Fall 2021 at UMMS, that pairs medical students with disabilities and chronic illnesses with student mentors that share similar life experiences and can help them navigate their medical school experience. The program is student-run and intentionally separate from the university given researched obstacles/conflicts with disability disclosure. Students interested in the program were subsequently contacted and asked to categorize how they would identify their disability from a list of options which included: neurocognitive/neuropsychological, chronic illness, auditory, learning, and mobility/physical; If students felt willing to share, free text was available for students to describe their disability to aid in the pairing of mentor/mentees relationships. 

Results: 
In our pilot launch, a school-wide email was sent, and we received a total of 17 responses in October of 2021. With a student body of 684 students, this equates to 2.48% compared to the most recently calculated national average of 4.58% of medical students who disclose a disability. Of the 17 responses, every category listed in our methodology was represented by at least 1 program participant. 1 student unenrolled in the program. Of the final 16 students, 10 pairings were made. Students were told to expect a 6-month follow-up survey.

Conclusion: 
Data surrounding the importance of mentorship programs is clear, especially among students who have historically been excluded from pursuing higher education. At the 6-month interval, we will assess program effectiveness via validated mentorship evaluation tools with all program participants; Future direction of this program will be tailored based on feedback and student needs however with an increase in students from UMMS requesting accommodations rising from 0.7% to 13.6% since 2017, our programming has drastic implications for the culture of our healthcare system.


Bryan Aaron

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