SUMMER PREMED PROGRAM: Inspiring Future Doctors

Bianca Rivas-UCI

During the summer of 2013 the Summer Pre-Med Program celebrated its 3rd year of existence. The program was created in 2010 by the collaboration of 3 UCI SOM outreach programs: High School Outreach Program, Center for Future Health Professionals and the Latino Medical Student Association. The program consists of three two-week sessions throughout the summer that cater to 60 high school students each. Each session is designed to stimulate an interest in talented high school students in pursuing careers in healthcare and science. The program does so by following the 3 core values of the School of Medicines missionDiscover, Teach and Heal.

ponents of the program, Dr. Marco Angulo, the program allows the kid born and raised in Newport Beach to work together with the kid from Santa Ana who might not have the same resources as the kid from Newport Beach. This program fosters a positive environment that allows students from diverse backgrounds to work together to develop their interests in healthcare and science.

The program also fosters a strong mentoring environment by recruiting passionate and giving undergraduate student and medical student coaches. LMSA can proudly say that 6 out of the 8 medical student coaches who participated in various sessions were LMSA officers-Victor Cisneros (session I), Jesse Gomez (session II and III), Krystal Jimenez Discover: each student is chal(session I), Jose Muizlenged to think Castro (session III), Bianca independently Rivas (session III) and Crisand critically. tina Vargas (session I). Victor Cisneros and Bianca RiTeach: handsvas also had the opportunity on workshops and of working on the admisMarco Angulo, MD, one of the creators of the program, works a group presentawith high school students in the simulation center sions committee working tion on disease and alongside the creators and research encourages students to become life-long facilitators of the program Dr. Benoosh Afghani, Dr. learners and teachers Marco Angulo, Wally Muratori and Molly Blair. The two LMSA officers shared the responsibility of Heal: by lear ning how to conduct patient inter screening scholarship applicants and rewarded scholviews in the clinical setting students learn how to meet arships to those students who demonstrated need for the unique needs of the patient financial assistance in order to participate in the program. These core values were all exemplified by participation in various workshops led by School of Medicine LMSA plans to continue its strong support and dedicafaculty, medical students and undergraduate student tion to the UCI Summer Premed Program whose miscoaches. Such activities included an opening day sion aligns with LMSAs mission of creating and menWhite Coat Ceremony, UCI Medical Center visit, toring a generation of healthcare professionals that mock trial to learn the legal side of medicine, college will give back to their communities and communities and career development workshop, and clinical skills in need. training. The exposure the students have to hands-on medicine is unmatched by many other premedical proFor more information on the UCI Summer Premed grams. According to one of the creators and major pro- Program please visit http://www.som.uci.edu/

The program stimulates interest in talented high school students in careers in healthcare and science using the three core values of the UCI School of Medicine Mission: Discover, Teach, Heal.