Every year the Weill Cornell Youth Scholars Program (WCYSP) invites inner-city students to participate in a new educational experience. The following column, written in support of the program, was penned three medical students who help run the WCYSP.

I. Objectives of the Weill Cornell Youth Scholars Program

The main purpose of the Alpha Omega Alpha Weill Cornell Youth Scholars Program is to expose underprivileged, underrepresented students, especially from inner city high schools, to the vast educational resources and opportunities at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital. Many of these high schools have exceptionally high drop out rates that coincide with low percentages of graduates that go on to attend a four-year university. By developing early experiences in medicine, students can develop appropriate attitudes towards their education, interpersonal skills and, more importantly, confidence in themselves to succeed academically.

In the past, Weill Cornell medical students, residents and attending physicians have served as mentors and teachers in the program. This summer we would like to also recruit Cornell undergraduates who will be in the New York metropolitan area this July to help teach. Most medical students and clinicians have long forgotten how to balance a chemical equation or calculate the pH using a Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. Undergraduates may be valuable in teaching basic science and advising on the college application process. We ask volunteer lecturers to donate at least one-to-two hours to teach a topic that they choose. Volunteer teachers will be given lecture notes and powerpoint slides that are already prepared for each topic. Alternatively, volunteer teachers may use their own teaching materials for their particular topic. The program runs for one month every July from Monday to Friday. Typically, each lecturer will give one to two one-hour lectures, but if they choose they can volunteer more of their time.

II. The NYC Public School System

The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the largest system of public schools in the U.S. It serves more than 1.1 million students in over 1,600 schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Approximately 86 percent of students in the NYCDOE are members of non-white minority populations. Furthermore, 40 percent live in households where English is not the primary language and 13 percent are designated as English Language Learners. In addition, it has been found that 34 percent of New York City Public School households have incomes of under $30,000 a year. As of 2008, only 33.7 percent of these households had at least one adult with a Bachelor’s Degree. It is clear from these data that a significant number of students in the NYCDOE system are underprivileged and do not have adequate exposure to educational opportunities.

III. Proposed Curriculum

The WCYSP curriculum is designed to educate, inspire and groom participants for personal and professional success. We seek to address some of the weaknesses that prevent many inner-city students from performing well at the college level through an innovative format that emphasizes critical reading and writing. Our daily Problem Based Learning (PBL) sessions give youth scholars a taste of the Weill Cornell Medical School curriculum. Similar in format to the small-group tutorials incorporated into the 1st and 2nd year basic science curriculum, these sessions will provide a forum for students to interact with one another and build their teamwork abilities, while improving their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.

IV. Follow-up Report

• All high school students that completed the program reported that it had a significant impact on their personal motivation to pursue a career in science and/or medicine and are more motivated to take more challenging courses in high school.

• After completing the program, the average number of Advanced Placement courses that students reported taking increased from 1.9 credits to 3.3 credits.

• At the end of the program the average quiz grade was 91 percent, the initial quiz grade average was 77 percent.

• All of the students who graduated from the program matriculated in college and 88 percent of the students who are now in college plan on majoring in science and/or pursuing a pre-med track.

The authors of this column are medical student associated with WCYSP. For more information on volunteering please email Bem Atim at b.l.atim@gmail.com, Yoann Millet at yhm2001@med.cornell.edu or Cynthia Santos at cds2006@med.cornell.edu with the subject WCYSP Cornell Undergraduate Volunteer. What’s Up, Doc? appears alternate Fridays this semester.