Early Engagement in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: The Role of High School Workshops and Pipeline Initiatives, A Cross-sectional Survey

Background and/or Objectives: Despite recent efforts, women and certain minority groups remain underrepresented in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R). Studies suggest that early exposure to healthcare careers, even at the high school level, can inspire greater interest in medicine. These programs have shown promise in increasing interest and representation across various medical fields; however, they are limited in scope and have not yet been explicitly applied to PM&R.

Design: Cross-sectional survey. We administered an anonymous questionnaire via Qualtrics, an online survey platform, from November to December 2024.

Setting : Virtual.

Participants : 159 high school students.

Interventions: Not Applicable.

Main Outcome Measures: Questions covered demographics, medical career interests, barriers to mentorship and preferences, and strategies to promote awareness and interest in rehabilitation medicine.

Results: Most respondents were female (73%). 33.3% identified as underrepresented in medicine (URiM) and 31.4% as first-generation college students. Baseline interest in PM&R was limited (9.4%), but enthusiasm for PM&R-related experiences was high, with 90.6% interested in research and 87.0% in shadowing. For mentoring, a majority (60.9%) of students valued both long-term (> 6 months) and short-term/one-time mentorship experiences. For workshops, students strongly favored hands-on activities (86.2%) and case reviews (72.5%). Preferred topics included Cancer Rehabilitation (73.2%) and Traumatic Brain Injury (65.0%), with additional interest in multidisciplinary collaboration (e.g., Neurosurgery, 44.9%). Key barriers identified included financial constraints (54.3%) and transportation challenges (38.4%).

Conclusions: Although baseline interest in PM&R is limited, we identified opportunities and barriers to engage high school students. Opportunities to connect with longitudinal mentors and find research and shadowing opportunities are most important to students. We also identified topics and activities for workshops with the highest baseline interest, an important consideration as a majority of students report financial or transportation barriers to in-person events. Findings from this study may guide future initiatives aimed at providing early exposure in PM&R, ultimately attracting diverse talents to the field.