On a sunny October Monday in San Francisco, California, anesthesiologists from across the country gathered at the largest anesthesia meeting of the year. This morning, some had a different destination: Willie L. Brown Jr. Middle School. These anesthesiologists were part of the ASA Doctors Back to School (DBTS) program (ASA Monitor 2022;86:32-3). Established in 2016, DBTS provides early exposure to careers in medicine for underrepresented middle school students (ASA Monitor 2022;86:32-3; asamonitor.pub/3QUBCk9). This year marked the return of DBTS to in-person classrooms for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, along with new additions to the program, including interactive stations led with the help of medical students.
The importance of early exposure to medicine for students from underrepresented communities cannot be overstated, with growing disparities in representation within our field. In a 2023 survey for anesthesia trainees, 5.4% were Black (12.9% of the U.S. population),...
