Graduating students from Sunnyside High School's Doctors Academy visited UCSF recently.
About 30 graduating students enrolled in the Doctors Academy at Sunnyside High School in Fresno got an inside look at the top-rated UCSF School of Medicine recently.
Now in its seventh year, the Doctors Academy is a program of the Latino Center for Medical Education and Research, which is part of the UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program. The center works with public schools to recruit, mentor and tutor disadvantaged students to help them achieve their potential in an attempt to solve the serious shortage of Latino physicians and other health care professionals in Fresno County. About 160 students are currently enrolled in the program.
As part of their visit to UCSF on April 19, the Sunnyside High School students joined a yoga class with fitness instructor Michael Cooper in the Millberry Fitness Center before heading into a pathology lab for a seminar conducted by medical resident Joaquin Garcia, MD. Through this lab experience, students learned about ethical values, responsibilities and reverence for those who donate their bodies to medicine.
At a special luncheon, Kevin Grumbach, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Alma Martinez, MD, a clinical professor and director of outreach for the medical school, congratulated the students for continuing on their pathway to health science careers.
Martinez herself was a beneficiary of targeted outreach. "As a young student, I was fortunate to participate in a program that motivated me to pursue a career in medicine," she says. "From my past experiences, I know these programs make a big difference for students. Anything I can do at UCSF to encourage students to consider careers in science and medicine is personally very satisfying."
The high school students also heard from a few UCSF medical students, who shared their own personal experiences and challenges. The event was made possible by the California State University system, Fresno Health Careers Opportunity Program and the California Wellness Foundation.
Photo by Christine Jegan
