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Date of Graduation

5-2025

Description

Combating clinical challenges with innovative engineering solutions is the sole purpose of biomedical engineering. To equip students with the skills needed for their future careers in biomedical engineering, our department has implemented a junior-level clinical and industry immersion course into the curriculum, aiming to combine unique clinical experience and design building. This service-learning course emphasizes hands-on clinical observation and the identification of healthcare issues, with the goal of building students' confidence and skills in applying the engineering principles that are taught in class. Recognizing the disparities in STEM demographics, this study specifically examines the course's impact on historically marginalized groups (HMG), such as women, Hispanic, Black/African American, Native American, and first-generation students, compared to their non-historically marginalized group (NHMG) counterparts. The disproportionate spread of demographics in engineering poses significant barriers for HMG students. These students often battle with underrepresented or repressive environments, unequal opportunity to resources, and a lack of strong community with their peers—factors that can affect confidence and students’ overall chances at succeeding.

This ongoing study evaluates the effectiveness of the clinical immersion course closing disparities between students by analyzing pre- and post-course survey data. The surveys, which included both quantitative and qualitative questions, assessed students' skill development, sense of self-competence, and awareness of healthcare disparities. Overall, results showed the course was effective at increasing growth in skills, such as engineering design capability and understanding customer perspectives, for all students. Quantitative findings revealed significant gains in confidence and skill development across students, with HMG students demonstrating the most visible growth despite starting with lower confidence levels in comparison to NHMG students. Qualitative analysis using NVivo sentiment software highlighted the value students placed on clinical exposure and getting to speak to professionals, highlighting its role in deepening their understanding of engineering practices and healthcare inequities.

Despite the positive impact the course had on all students, the trend of lower confidence levels for HMG students before the course was taken alludes to the disparities these students may face in the classroom. By addressing these inequities in biomedical engineering education, we can begin to strategize how we can improve curricula and programs that are inclusive and tailored for underrepresented students, aiming to close the gap and promote equity in the classroom in order to build great future engineers.

Publication Date

2025

Document Type

Book

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Elsaadany, Mostafa

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Social Science

Comments

Second Place - Social Sciences Group 2 Category

Closing Equity Gaps in Biomedical Engineering: Measuring the Influence of a Clinical Immersion Class on Marginalized Students

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