This Is How We Role: Inspiring Future Researchers through Veterinary Medicine

 描述（由申请人提供）：临床科学家劳动力缺乏多样性是“NIH非常严重的问题”和医疗保健专业。目前扩大STEM领域参与的努力通常针对高中和大学适龄学生。然而，历史和国家趋势表明，单靠这些努力不会导致迅速或重大的变化，因为种族和族裔差异到目前为止已经很明显。孩子们早在小学就形成了职业偏好，当时他们几乎没有接触科学和STEM职业选择。该团队的总体愿景是满足国家的劳动力目标，即在满足国家STEM目标的同时发展多元化的临床科学家劳动力。作为实现这一愿景的一步，这就是我们如何“角色”的目标是通过增加具有真实STEM经验的K-4学生的数量来激励小学生成为临床科学家。这一目标将通过两个具体目标实现。目标1的重点是在美国不同的地理区域分发和评估K-4课后计划，以支持发展强大而多样化的临床科学家队伍。目标2的重点是开发社区资源（课后计划课程，信息书籍和在线证书计划），以促进健康科学素养，并鼓励来自服务不足和代表性不足社区的K-4学生从事生物医学和临床研究。结合起来，这些目标将通过提供文化上敏感的课后教育计划，为来自服务不足社区的幼儿提供真正的STEM体验的机会，这些计划将由性别，种族和民族多样的大学生和临床医生科学家榜样提供。将开发有关影响人类及其动物的健康问题（即糖尿病、蛀牙）的书籍和在线证书计划，并分发给无法参加课外活动的儿童。此外，通过吸引来自美国各地的兽医课程和学生，沿着执业兽医，该计划将研究开发的方法和课程是否在跨越全国的不同社区和地理区域有效。小学教师将担任顾问，以确保教育材料符合下一代科学标准，并将协助培训大学生和临床科学家，以更好地向公众宣传他们工作的社会影响。该计划将继续使用小学生参与STEM活动的成功模式，通过使用影响人和动物的健康状况的例子。最终，该项目将教育，改善健康，并吸引不同的小学生，特别是那些来自服务不足的社区，职业为临床科学家。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The lack of diversity in the clinician-scientist workforce is a "very serious concern to the NIH" and to health care professions. Current efforts to broaden participation in STEM fields typically target high school and college-age students. Yet, history and national trends suggest that these efforts alone will not result in rapid or significant change because racial and ethnic disparities are already evident by this time. Children are forming career preferences as early as elementary school, a time when they have little exposure to science and STEM career options. The overall vision of this team is to meet the nation's workforce goal of developing a diverse, clinician-scientist workforce while meeting the nation's STEM goals. As a step toward this vision, the goal of This Is How We "Role" is to inspire elementary school students towards careers as clinician-scientists by increasing the number of K-4 students with authentic STEM experiences. This goal will be attained through two specific aims. The focus of Aim 1 is to distribute and evaluate a K-4 afterschool program across the diverse geographic regions of the US, to support the development of a robust and diverse clinician-scientist workforce. Aim 2 is focused on developing the community resources (afterschool program curriculum, informational books and online certificate program) for promoting health science literacy and encouraging careers in biomedical and clinical research for K-4 students from underserved and underrepresented communities. Combined, these aims will enhance opportunities for young children from underserved communities to have authentic STEM experiences by providing culturally responsive, afterschool educational programs which will be delivered by university student and clinician-scientist role models who are diverse in gender, race, and ethnicity. Books and an online certificate program about health issues impacting people and their animals (i.e. diabetes, tooth decay) will be developed and distributed to children unable to attend afterschool programs. Further, by engaging veterinary programs and students from across the US, along with practicing veterinarians, this program will examine whether the approaches and curriculum developed are effective across the diverse communities and geographic regions that span the country. Elementary school teachers will serve as consultants to ensure that educational materials are consistent with Next Generation Science Standards, and will assist in training university students and clinician-scientists to better communicate the societal impact of their work to the public. The program will continue to use the successful model of engaging elementary school students in STEM activities by using examples of health conditions that impact both people and their animals. Ultimately, this project will educate, improve the health of, and attract a diverse pool of elementary school students, particularly those from underserved communities, to careers as clinician-scientists.