Our Speaker Dr. Ian Walker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Club member Sean Baylis introduced our speaker Dr. Ian Walker from the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine.

 

Dr. Walker spoke on Pathways to Medicine, a scholarship program for low-income high school graduates. The University of Calgary, recognizing that it has a diversity problem, developed the program to encourge students from lower income families to enter medical school.

 

Over the past several years, typical medical school applicants have become richer, with most coming from families in the top income quintile. At the other end of the spectrum, students are dissuaded from even considering medical school, owing to a number of factors: the perceived remoteness of the goal, lack of access to enrichment and mentorship, and financial obstacles.

 

Although applicatants must satisfy all regular admissions requirements, Pathways to Medicine provides a number of tools to assist low income high school graduates in entering medical school. These tools include mentorship from practicing physicians and current medical students, formal enrichment opportunities, financial support, and up to five entrance offers reserved each year for successful participants in the pathways program. The application criteria for Pathways to Medicine mirror the regular medical school entrance requirements.

 

The scholarship, similar to programs in the United States, is the result of a faculty-wide survey in 2014 that found supporting access to under-represented populations (low socioeconomic status, Indigenous ancestry, or rural residence) is ranked as high priority for education.

 

On graduation from the undergraduate program, up to five participants are guaranteed admission to the University of Calgary's medical school.

 

At the conculsion of a question and answer session, Rick Erven thanked our speaker with a certificate acknowledging the club's donation to CAWST, given in appreciation of Dr. Walker's presentation.