About the Program

History

The University of Pennsylvania Pipeline Neuroscience Program began in 1998 as part of Project 3000 by 2000, an ambitious program launched by the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Division of Community and Minority Programs, with the goal of increasing the matriculation of underrepresented minorities in medical school.

Participants

The Schools

The Pipeline program has drawn high school students from three Philadelphia institutions: William L. Sayre, Thomas A. Edison, and Overbrook high schools (Figure 1). The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine’s Office of Minority Affairs formed partnerships with these three high schools because they are part of the University’s local community, and because their student bodies are predominantly African American or Hispanic and financially disadvantaged.

Figure 1. Map of Philadelphia showing the University of Pennsylvania and the high schools that have participated in the Pipeline Neuroscience Program: Overbrook, Edison, and Sayre. (Reprinted with permission from Hamilton et al., 2007.)

The Teachers

Each year the Pipeline Neuroscience Program recruits eight to ten University of Pennsylvania undergraduates and ten to twenty-five medical students. A single fourth-year medical student serves as a logistical coordinator, ensuring the smooth day-to-day operation of the program. Six to eight neurology residents and a member of the neurology faculty also participate on a yearly basis, writing the clinical cases that are the foundation of the case-based curriculum. The neurology faculty member has the ultimate responsibility for organizing the program and approving the case topics.

The Students

The number of high school students enrolled annually has ranged from 25 to 46. According to 2005-2006 data from the School District of Philadelphia, 77.8% of Edison students are Latino and 19.3% are African American. The student bodies at Sayre and Overbrook are 98.5% and 98.8% African American, respectively. Additionally, 84.5% of Edison students, 61.7% of Sayre students, and 70.7% of Overbrook students were eligible for the Federal School Lunch Program in the 2005-2006 school year (School District of Philadelphia, 2006). The demographics of students participating in the program closely reflect those of their home schools. For example, in 2007, 100% of the 26 participating high school students from Sayre were African American. The Pipeline program counts towards a Philadelphia Unified School District requirement that students participate in activities that are of civic value.

A faculty coordinator at each high school selects students for the program based on interest and, at Sayre High School, based on student performance during a fall-semester introductory neuroscience class. This weekly introductory class is taught by University of Pennsylvania undergraduates and medical students as part of Sayre’s life science curriculum. High school students who perform well and have excellent attendance and homework completion rates in the fall-semester class are encouraged to enroll in the spring-semester Pipeline program. Similarly, undergraduate TAs who excel as educators and mentors in the fall-semester class are encouraged to interview for the eight undergraduate TA positions available in the Pipeline spring-semester program. Interviews for the undergraduate TA position are conducted by the fourth-year medical student coordinator in December, after sending out an e-mail announcement to the pre-medical undergraduate list serve in the fall.

The Course

Pipeline classes are held at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine on a weekly basis during the spring semester. Neurology residents create the clinical vignettes around which the class is structured and give preparatory lectures to the medical students and undergraduates in order to enrich their understanding of the subject matter and help them generate ideas for teaching the high school lessons (Figure 2). Residents and fellows take turns attending the high school class sessions, serving as a teaching resource for the medical students and undergraduates. Classes are 90 minutes long.

Figure 2. Schematic of the teaching pathway of the Pipeline Neuroscience Program, summarizing the roles and responsibilities of neurology housestaff, medical students, and undergraduates. (Reprinted with permission from Hamilton et al., 2007.)

Teams of two or three first-year medical students and a fourth-year medical student lead the classes for the high school students. The fourth-year medical students have completed a pre-clinical neuroscience course and a clinical rotation in neurology, while the first-year medical students are taking the pre-clinical neuroscience course at the same time that they teach the Pipeline course. Undergraduate students act as TAs, with each undergraduate TA leading a small group of three to four high school students during class activities. These small groups are maintained throughout the semester, facilitating strong mentoring relationships between the undergraduates and high school students. Approximately half of each 90-minute class is run by the medical students, while half is dedicated to small group lessons or activities run by the undergraduates.

Since 2005, the small groups of high school students have concluded each year?s course by giving oral presentations on topics in neurology. Undergraduates assume the primary responsibility of assisting their small groups in reviewing the medical literature, performing internet searches, preparing Powerpoint slides, and practicing public speaking skills. The final public speaking exercise is attended by the high school students? parents and faculty from the University of Pennsylvania.

Videos about the Educational Pipeline Program:

Pipeline Project Overview (5:44)

Pipeline Project Lecture (34:47)