MAXIMIZING STUDENT DIVERSITY IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Summary: Through intentional programming and community based outreach efforts to under-served communities, this supplement seeks to promote student wellness and resiliency. Student feedback from pilots of the proposed activities highlight their indelibly positive impact on student well-being and resiliency. Both activities, however, were hurriedly organized and implemented during the height of the pandemic; both can be significantly improved. The goal of this supplement is to take the time needed to organize, expand, and evolve both efforts to optimize their ability to drive student wellness, resiliency, and success. Focusing specifically on outreach activities, we will enhance our IMSD and MARC led tutoring and science programs by developing a workshop on best practices for urban youth, creating detailed protocols and resources for 12 monthly student led hands-on science demonstrations, and working with tutors, students, parents, and leadership of local high schools and non-profit organizations to increase program efficiency and sustainability. We will enhance the success of our Wellness and Resiliency Workshop by improving website design to facilitate greater student interaction through web-based discussions, adding sessions on building resiliency through community, and introducing an associated in-person (or remote) monthly discussion group that focuses on challenges students are facing in graduate school. By evolving these activities, which will be open to all PhD students in the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University, to best meet our students' needs, we are confident they will increase the wellness and resiliency of all participating PhD students (and the academic achievement of high school students) and in so doing provide them with critical skills that will help them enjoy and succeed in graduate school and beyond. The key measurable objectives of our proposed activities are the same: reduce student stress, increase student ability to manage stressful and anxiety-inducing situations, increase student wellness, and increase student resiliency. To assess the effectiveness of each intervention in achieving its goals, we will conduct pre-/post-test surveys with all students to track the impact of each activity on each parameter via multiple quantitative and qualitative questions. As Dr. Jim Skeath, the IMSD program director, will help oversee the creation and implementation of all activities, he is perfectly positioned to ensure they are integrated into the fabric of the IMSD programming and culture long-term, ensuring their sustainability.