147 - “They’re driving it” - A qualitative study of the Impact of Social Determinants of Health focused Microgrants on resident initiative, mentorship, and professional development.

Publication Number: 4144.147

Maia Sirkin, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, White Plains, NY, United States; Erin J. Goss, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; David S. Edelman, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States; Sandra F.. Braganza, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore Einstein, Blauvelt, NY, United States

Background: As part of the AMA Reimagining Residency initiative, our institution developed a microgrant program to support innovative, interdisciplinary curricula addressing social determinants of health (SDOH). From March 2021 to June 2025, 37 microgrants ($2,500–$5,000 each) were awarded across four annual cycles to projects led by residents and faculty in Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and OB-GYN. While microgrants have been shown to foster educational innovation, their impact on resident participants remains underexplored.

Objective: This qualitative evaluation aims to assess the microgrant program’s impact on resident initiative, mentorship, and professional development.

Design/Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 8 attendings and 7 residents who participated in microgrant-funded projects from April –June 2025. Attending were purposively sampled to ensure disciplinary and rank diversity; residents were recruited through snowball sampling. Verbal informed consent was obtained prior to participation. Interviews were transcribed, de-identified, and analyzed using thematic analysis. The research team developed familiarity with the data, used a hybrid inductive–deductive approach to generate initial codes, then analyzed coded data to identify themes. This protocol was exempted by the local IRB.

Results: The microgrant program effectively fostered resident initiative, mentorship, and professional development. Residents described leading all aspects of their projects—“I built that curriculum and implemented the grant”(R1). Mentorship was a defining feature: “mentorship with [my attending] continues to be invaluable… I learned a ton from her about grant writing, study design, and curriculum development.”(R2) The funding provided accountability and allowed residents to create tangible outcomes, as one noted, “The better the project is, the fuller the project is, the more motivated the resident is to do the project.”(R3) The experience often influenced career direction—“I think that the project motivated me to pursue the career that I am currently pursuing”(R4)—underscoring the program’s impact on resident growth and long-term engagement.

Conclusion(s): The microgrant program served as a catalyst for resident-driven innovation, mentorship, and professional growth. Structured yet flexible support along with accessible funding empowered residents to lead meaningful projects, gain scholarly skills, and build strong faculty partnerships. Findings highlight the value of small-scale, targeted funding as a powerful tool to advance resident initiative and promote sustainable educational change.