Latino Youth Exposed to Medicine Through the Magic of Mannequins

The Medical Organization for Latino Advancement (MOLA) has launched a medical simulation training program for 40 high school and undergraduate students in the Chicagoland area, with the goal of providing basic medical knowledge and exposure to the medical field.

Even though Hispanics and Latinos make up more than 17 percent of our nation’s total population, this ethnic group is significantly underrepresented in many industries and fields, including medicine.

According to the most recent statistics reported by the Association of American Medical Colleges, Hispanics and Latinos comprised only 6.1 percent of all U.S. medical school applicants in 2015. The gap is even wider when you look at matriculation rates: Hispanics or Latinos made up only 4.6 percent of all medical school graduates in 2015.

There are several reasons why Hispanics and Latinos are underrepresented in the field of medicine, including socioeconomic reasons as well as the incredibly high cost of medical school education. Even students who reach medical school enter the field without prior hands-on exposure to the field.

“Most students have to wait until they are in their third year of medical school to get any clinical training or exposure, which is a source of anxiety for many who are eager to learn what it is actually like to be a doctor,” says Dr. Pilar Ortega, an emergency physician at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and MOLA’s president. “We are introducing these first response and safety educational concepts to students 5-10 years earlier than they normally would get such exposures.”

In response to the underrepresentation of Latinos in medicine and health care, MOLA has designed a mentorship program to build a pipeline to health care careers for high school and college students interested in the field. MOLA’s students represent various local schools, including Arrupe College, City Colleges of Chicago, Curie Metro High School, Loyola University Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, and University of Illinois-Chicago.

The training program, developed in partnership with Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, will provide the students with basic clinical training and expose them to real-world medical scenarios through the hospital's state-of-the-art Simulation Center.

Specifically, students will learn basic medical knowledge, including first aid, vital signs, CPR, and infection prevention, and utilize these skills on robotic patients, also known as “mannequins.” Through the program curriculum, students will also participate in emergency scenarios that could take place in the community, such as childbirths and opioid overdose.

In addition to this hands-on training, the students will learn from MOLA’s mentors, ranging from physicians and nurses to health care and public health leaders, a key ingredient to helping foster excitement about a career in health care among Latino youth.

"Many of our underrepresented Latino high school students aspiring to work in health care have big dreams and unrecognized potential, but don't have access to hands-on experience or competitive enrichment programs,” says Mervin Dino, project leader at Advocate Illinois Masonic and MOLA’s mentorship program director. “We want to open doors for our students today so they can learn the skills needed to make an impact tomorrow.”