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The Impact of a Cardiology Interest Group (CIG) on Medical Student Interest in a Cardiology Career
Introduction: Specialty-specific student interest groups have become stepping stones in medical schools to facilitate student engagement within focused areas of medicine1. However, research on the impact of cardiology interest groups on students’ career interests remains limited. Our study compares the number of students interested in pursuing a career in cardiology with the perceived source of interest across medical students along with student involvement with Cardiology Interest Group (CIG) events and membership. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to all Albany Medical College M.D. Program students graduating in 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 over two weeks. Participants voluntarily reported their CIG membership, involvement level, and interest in cardiology as a career. Likert scores and percentages were used for comparison among the cohorts (2024-2027) and between preclinical (2026-2027) and clinical students (2024-2025). Results: A total of 129 participants from the graduating classes of 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027 voluntarily completed the survey assessing their baseline and degree of involvement in CIG as well as corresponding source of and overall interest in cardiology as a career. 39% percent of students in classes 2026/2027 considered a career in cardiology as compared to 5% of students within classes 2024/2025 (P<0.001). Similar significance was seen in the difference between the class of 2026/2027 and 2024/2025 in attributing interest to CIG, representing 13% and 3%, respectively (P<0.001). The 26/27 cohort was more likely to have attended a CIG event compared to the class of 2024/2025 (P<0.001). An overall influence of CIG on cardiology as a speciality was significantly more predominant within the preclinical classes as compared to the clinical class (P<0.001). Conclusion: Our study demonstrates CIG’s substantial role in fostering student interest and engagement in cardiology careers. Limitations of our study may be seen in the classes of 2024/2025 being further into clinical years and thus potentially having a narrowed scope of specialty interest at the time of completing the survey. The overall impact of CIG was illustrated most within the classes of 2026/2027 having CIG during preclinical years, as compared to classes of 2024/2025 who did not. These findings highlight the importance of a Cardiology Interest Group in didactic years for fostering interest and potential careers in the field of cardiology.