ID Support, Train, Educate and Prepare Program

Overview

IDSA Announces Pilot Test of ID Step Program

The ID Support, Train, Educate and Prepare (STEP) program is an innovative initiative aimed at increasing the recruitment and retention of medical school students interested in infectious diseases. The program is designed to target populations that are underrepresented in medicine by providing them with an orientation to infectious diseases, career information, mentoring and more.

What Students Have Access To

Schools may choose a minimum of three activities for implementation throughout the school year, preferably one from each category below.

Support and Train: Connecting Students to ID Role Models

Volunteer Opportunities in ID: IDSA member-led volunteer opportunities
On Campus and Regional ID Faculty Shadowing (A Day in the Life of an ID Doc):
One-day practical learning experiences
Social Events (Quarterly): Engaging through food and fun
Social Media Takeovers: A regional role model will take over the IDSA Foundation’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account

Educate: Early Exposure in the First Two Years of Medical School

Campus Welcome and Orientation: Regional staffing support from the IDSA Foundation
Career Profile Webinars: Short videos about real-world applications of ID
Regional Career Panels: Regional gatherings of experts
Virtual Resources: Access to virtual webinars, panels and educational resources
Prepare (Structured Mentorship Program)
Structured Mentorship Program: Paired mentorship through iDMentorship365 or in person on- campus
Research Grants (Two per year/school: One-year mentored research grants through the Grants for Emerging Researchers/Clinicians (G.E.R.M. program)
Travel Grants: Increased access to IDWeek content for medical school students (M3 and M4 only)

Eligibility

IDSA intends to partner with accredited medical schools within the United States and its territories that have a large population of students underrepresented in medicine including but not limited to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU), and Hispanic-serving institutions, etc.

How The Program Works

Each medical school participating in the ID STEP program will receive:

A program grant of up to $50,000 to support campus-based staffing and ID STEP implementation activities;
A recruitment implementation toolkit highlighting an overview and step-by-step instructions for implementing each ID STEP activity;
Implementation technical assistance as well as facilitated learning opportunities for virtual and on campus-based ID STEP coordinators;
Program evaluation support.

For more information, please email us.

Igniting Interest in ID Career Paths

Since its inception in 2016, the ID Student Interest Groups Grant Program provided 129 grants to 70 student groups across 32 states and Washington, D.C. Take a look at the program’s impact across the country!