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Building a scalable, multilevel healthcare pipeline program through structured mentoring families: perceptions and outcomes from two cohorts

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: A healthcare workforce reflective of the population is essential to improving access and quality, yet students from low socioeconomic and underrepresented backgrounds continue to face barriers to entry. Early exposure and mentorship programs are critical strategies to address these gaps. We evaluated the Horizons Mentoring Program, a novel multilevel pipeline model that integrates medical students, undergraduates, and predominantly low-income, Black high school students from local communities into mentoring families across two consecutive cohorts. All families concurrently participated in monthly sessions over the course of an academic year, focusing on clinical skills, college preparation, and healthcare career exploration. Among both cohorts A and B, nearly all of the respondents reported satisfaction with this program, formation of mentorship networks, and understanding of healthcare careers. In Cohort B, the proportion of high school students reporting no mentors in healthcare significantly decreased from 62.9% to 29.6% (p = .003). Participants also reported significantly greater understanding of healthcare career pathways (p = .016) and increased confidence in achieving these careers (p = .041), while interest in healthcare careers remained consistently high. These findings demonstrate that a multilevel, family-based mentorship model is feasible, scalable, and associated with improved mentorship and career preparedness, supporting its potential as a valid framework.

Source: Journal of the National Medical Association

DOI: 10.1016/j.jnma.2026.06.003