Dr. Vince on how pipeline programs can succeed in urology

In this interview, Randy Vince, MD, MS, highlights the discussion, “Pipeline/Pathway Program Lecture: What works and what doesn’t work,” which took place at the 2023 American Urological Association Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Vince is an assistant professor urologic oncology at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Urology Institute and the director of minority men's health program at University Hospitals’ Cutler Center for Men.

Video Transcript:

One of the things that are called for was nationwide longitudinal pathways. The reason why is because in addition to the race and racism, we know that kids who come from disadvantaged communities, so underserved communities should I say, are less likely to end up becoming physicians, less likely to go into STEM fields, and there is a number of other things that they're less likely to do. Within that presentation, all I wanted to do is highlight the ways that pipeline programs are implemented, things that cause pipeline programs to fail, and things that cause pipeline programs to succeed.

What we know is that for those programs that succeed, they have the resources to be sustained. They also have a sense of community, right? Because oftentimes, and I even include myself in this, when you're not from a family of money or means, and you go from living in poverty, not knowing anyone, in my case, who was a physician, to now becoming a surgeon, it's extremely hard on that journey, to put yourself out there, because you've constantly feeling like a fish out of water. So, those pipeline programs that actually foster a sense of community and family, those are the pipeline programs that really do well. That's one of the things that I wanted to highlight in that program, because oftentimes, we have many of our prestigious universities and institutions that say, "Oh, we have this pipeline program", but they don't really commit resources to it, or they're not really interested in fostering a sense of community and family. And in my opinion, those things are pivotal if you want to have a successful pipeline program.

This transcription has been edited for clarity.