3481 - Funded Radiation Oncology Visiting Medical Student Electives: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

D. T. Bergman¹, A. Gayne¹, C. J. McNamara¹, C. R. Thomas Jr², and N. S. Kapadia^1,3; ¹Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Sciences, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, ²Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Sciences, Dartmouth Cancer Center, Geisel School of Medicine, Lebanon, NH, ³Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Purpose/Objective(s): Visiting electives increase exposure of radiation oncology (RO) programs to medical students and may influence where students match. Institutions have offered scholarships for visiting students in RO to offset the financial burden of visiting electives, often with a focus on increasing access to students underrepresented in medicine (URiM). The availability and distribution of funded electives has not been described. Here, we characterized the current landscape of funded RO electives. Materials/

Methods: Residency programs offering visiting electives were identified through the FREIDA database. Departments hosting electives without a residency program were identified through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) database. Funded elective availability and departmental characteristics were identified via internet search by two independent reviewers per elective. Discrepancies were identified and resolved. Fishers Exact Test and Student’s t-test were used to examine elective geospatial distribution and departmental size, respectively.
Results: 92 visiting electives were identified, with 40 programs offering scholarships (43.5%, 38/40 URiM-specific). 12 (30%) were hosted and funded by the RO department and 28 (70%) were part of institutional URiM scholarships. The median stipend provided was $2,000 (IQR $500), range $1,000-$5,000. 92.6% (25/27) of the programs offered >$1,500. 13 programs (32.5%) did not disclose stipend amount. Geospatial distribution of scholarships by US census tract showed a significantly unequal distribution (Table 1). Departments with funded electives were significantly larger based on physician faculty size and total resident number (Table 1).
Conclusion: The equity gap presented by visiting electives is large in RO. In 2015, applicants averaged 2.4 electives, spending around $2,500 total (Winterton et al. BMC Med Educ 2016). As of 2024, less than half (43.5%) of RO electives offer support, with most scholarships exceeding $1,500, aligning with 2015 expenditure adjusted for inflation. Program funding correlates with department size, indicated by resident and faculty numbers. Unequal distribution of scholarships is evident, notably in the South Central and Middle Atlantic divisions, necessitating interventions to address access disparities. Our study serves as a valuable resource for students and emphasizes the need to continue to positively enhance diversity in the field.

Abstract 3481 – Table 1: Departmental characteristics of funded and unfunded elective programs
Census Division	Funded elective proportion	P (Fishers exact)
New England	3/4	0.011
Mountain	3/4
East North Central	11/16
Pacific	8/13
West North Central	3/6
Middle Atlantic	6/19
South Atlantic	5/16
West South Central	1/9
East South Central	0/5
	Total residents (mean)	P (t-test)
Funded electives (n = 40)	9.48	0.015
Unfunded electives (n = 52)	6.85
	Physician faculty (mean)	P (t-test)
Funded electives (n = 40)	22.35	0.016
Unfunded electives (n = 52)	15.47