Date of Award

January 2026

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Medical Doctor (MD)

Department

Medicine

First Advisor

Samreen Vora

Abstract

The healthcare industry in the United States continues to experience rapid growth, yet workforce shortages persist across a wide range of medical professions. In order to increase the pool of qualified individuals pursuing healthcare, innovative strategies are needed to increase interest in healthcare fields among youth. Prior research has identified that healthcare career interest is driven in part by motivational characteristics including interest in math and science, self-efficacy, and social factors like the expectations of parents and caregivers. Mentoring, career exploration, and informal learning have been identified as strategies that increase student interest in and commitment towards healthcare careers. This knowledge informed the development of the Simulation Academy – a unique program aimed at increasing interest in healthcare careers among New Haven public high school students. This program serves as both a means to support student interest in healthcare careers and as an opportunity to evaluate how such a program functions. This thesis aims to describe the design and implementation of a novel tiered mentorship program to the existing simulation curriculum, which together make up the Yale Simulation Academy. This thesis also aims to study the impact of the Simulation Academy.We conducted a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with students at the conclusion of their first year of participation in the Yale Simulation Academy. This study was conducted using an approach informed by constructivist grounded theory. Descriptive and thematic analyses of interview data were performed to understand what benefits students received from participating in the program and how the program brought these about. A total of 11 students were recruited to participate in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Three main benefits of the program were described based on analysis of the interview data: (1) increases interest in healthcare, (2) clarity in healthcare interests and future plans, and (3) increased confidence and self-efficacy. Two main themes were identified that explained the ways in which Simulation Academy led to these benefits for students: (1) the importance of interpersonal relationships, and (2) opportunity for exploration. The second theme includes two subthemes: (a) experiential learning, and (b) reflection. These themes highlight student perspectives to shed new light on how healthcare career programs benefit students. This knowledge leads to recommendations that we hope will guide and inspire healthcare career programs as we continue the work of training the healthcare professionals of the future.

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This is an Open Access Thesis.

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