Degree Name
EdD (Doctor of Education)
Program
Educational Leadership
Date of Award
8-2023
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Susan Epps
Committee Members
James Lampley, Michelle Lee
Abstract
For many years graduate and professional education programs for the health professions have sought to increase the diversity of their student body to include students from a wider variety of backgrounds. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers is an essential component of addressing inequities in healthcare. However, despite initiatives to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions, these professions remain largely White and female. Previous researchers have sought to identify the reasons that racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in healthcare, and the barriers to persistence and success. Little research exists explaining why men are underrepresented in the healthcare professions, though many healthcare professions have historically been perceived as caregiving professions, and therefore, as “female work.” The purpose of this qualitative study was to add to the existing body of literature on underrepresented pre-health students by exploring the experiences of racial/ethnic minority and male undergraduate students on pre-health paths.
This study included 11 participants who self-identified as intending to pursue a graduate or professional healthcare program and as African American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Hispanic, or male; all were enrolled at one mid-sized, regional university in the southeastern United States. I utilized semi-structured interviews to investigate the experiences of the participants. The themes that emerged among the experiences of pre-health students, included common influences on career choice, what pre-health students believe they need to do to be competitive, challenges, fears and worries about the future, motivation to persist, resources and support utilized, and planning (or lack of planning) for alternate career paths.
Document Type
Dissertation - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Williams, Alison, "Exploring the Experiences of Underrepresented Students Pursuing Health-Related Graduate or Professional Programs" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4241. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4241
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Academic Advising Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Dentistry Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Gender Equity in Education Commons, Medical Education Commons, Occupational Therapy Commons, Other Education Commons, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Commons, Physical Therapy Commons, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons