1st appeared 30 September 1998

UCSF-Fresno Latino Center Debuts Lecture Series

The UCSF-Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research will debut its Visiting Professorship lecture series on Thursday, Oct. 1 with a presentation by David Hayes-Bautista, director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health.

The Latino Center for Medical Education and Research in Fresno opened in October 1996 with initial funding from the UCSF School of Medicine and a federal Partnerships for Health Professions Education (PHPE) grant from the US Public Health Service. The Center provides a focal point for addressing the persistent shortage and underrepresentation of Latino physicians, particularly Mexican-American, in communities and in the medical school faculty.

While the Mexican-American population exceeds 32 percent of the state, fewer than five percent of the physicians are Latino and fewer than one-half of one percent of the medical school faculty in UC medical schools are Mexican-American, according to Katherine A. Flores, UCSF assistant dean and director of the Latino center.

The goal of the Center is to act as a "comprehensive pipeline program, recognizing the need for underrepresented doctors," said Martin Rodriguez, Center administrative officer. The program hopes to create a system of health care to better serve underserved populations in the Central Valley by:

• assisting Fresno area Latino students to compete successfully for medical school admissions;
• attracting Latino medical students to clerkships and eventually residency training in the Central Valley;
• preparing Latino physicians to serve as faculty in university medical schools; and
• conducting research on the health status and needs of the region's population.

The lecture series will provide CME (Continuing Medical Education) credit to physicians who serve a large Latino population, keeping them aware of Latino-related health issues, Rodriguez said.

The first lectures of the series -- two presentations by Hayes-Bautista -- are scheduled in Fresno for Thursday: "Population Based Medicine in a Time of Changing Demographics," at 12:30 p.m. in the UC Office of the President, 550 E. Shaw Avenue, and "The Browning of the Graying of America" at 3:30 p.m. at the University Medical Center.

A professor in the UCLA School of Medicine, Hayes-Bautista has served as professor and director of the UCLA Center for the Study of Latino Health since 1992. His research focuses on the dynamics and processes of the health of the Latino population, including Latino demographics and health policy, the Latino culture -- its identity and behavior -- and culturally effective care delivery. Hayes-Bautista earned both his master's and doctorate degrees in medical sociology at UCSF.

In addition to Hayes-Bautista, visiting professors, with dates and locations to be announced, include the following:

• Enrique Fernandez -- Fernandez was the recent director of the Federal Bureau of Health Professions division of medicine and executive secretary of the influential Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME). He will discuss "US Government Policies Affecting the Training of Providers for Underserved Populations."

• Michael A. Rodriguez -- Rodriguez is an associate professor at UCSF and associate director of the Pacific Center for Violence Prevention. Rodriguez, who will discuss "Violence as a Major Health Issue Among Latinos," has done research on violence and Latino youth and domestic violence in Latino families.

• Fernando Mendoza -- Mendoza is associate director of the Stanford Center of Excellence and chief of the division of general pediatrics. He also serves as associate dean for student affairs at the Stanford University School of Medicine and as director of the Stanford Center for Chicano Research and co-director of the Inter University Program for Latino Research. He will discuss "Immigrant Children's Health Needs."

• David V. Espino -- Espino is associate professor at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. He will discuss "Special Characteristics of the Latino Geriatric Population."

Links

UCSF-Fresno Latino Center for Medical Education and Research

UCSF-Fresno Latino Center Hopes to Attract and Train Physicians (press release)

Source: Joe Rosato, News Services and Paula Murphy, Daybreak Editor

DAYBREAK | ARCHIVES | CALENDAR | CAMPUS NOTES
CAMPUS EYE | LIFESTYLE | QUICK LINKS | HELP/RESOURCES | SEARCH

Copyright ©1998 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Last Updated May 11, 1999.
Please direct all comments and questions to the Daybreak Editor .
Please contact the UCSF Web Developer for questions of a technical nature.