Conference Assists Underrepresented Students in Preparing for Professional Programs
| Nearly 50 underrepresented and minority college students from across Arkansas spent a recent morning online learning about and preparing for professional degree programs, aided by UAMS faculty and students.
The annual Minority Association of Premedical Students (MAPS) Conference, canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, returned in a virtual format for 2021, helping prepare undergraduate and graduate students for professional degree programs in the colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy and specifically for the physician assistant program in the College of Health Professions.
MAPS participants with students and faculty of the College of Medicine.
“The MAPS Conference provides practical advice about entering the professional school from credible sources, such as current faculty, staff and students,” said medical student Carter Pacheco, the MAPS coordinator of UAMS’s Edith Irby Jones chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), which organized the event. “Also, the event provides undergraduates a great opportunity to network with fellow peers at other institutions, professional students, and the staff members of the UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.”
The March 6 online event included an opening address from Gloria Richard-Davis, M.D., MBA, executive director of the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and then divided participants into areas of interest – medicine, pharmacy or the physician assistant program – to tackle college-specific matters of admissions and advice from both faculty and students.
“Part of our chapter’s mission is to remove any barrier that prevents underrepresented students from achieving their desired careers in any health care field,” said medical student Vanessa Bastidas, vice president of UAMS’s Edith Irby Jones chapter of the SNMA. “The MAPS Conference was a great opportunity for aspiring underrepresented health professionals to see how to craft their path to success and get guidance and advice from students who’ve gone through the process.”
That path includes steps such as standardized tests and admissions interviews, both of which were covered in presentations. The event also included a chance for participants to work on a resume and personal statement. Lunch included a student panel discussion with an opportunity for questions, followed by a virtual tour of the UAMS campus in Little Rock, including a look at clinical areas and the UAMS Simulation Center.
MAPS participants meeting virtually with faculty and students from the physician’s assistant program in the College of Health Professions.
“I am so fortunate to have been provided the information for this event,” said TraNae Gibbs, a junior who attended the physician assistant presentations. “After this experience I will definitely connect with the new network this opportunity has provided. This was a great group that was very willing to help.”