Three outstanding clinician-educators have been named as leaders of the UCSF School of Medicine's new Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US.)
Piloted last year, PRIME-US is a medical education program that focuses on meeting the health care needs of indigent, inner-city communities and inspiring future leaders in the field. This program is a special five-year track for medical students interested in working with urban underserved populations.
The PRIME-US leaders are:
* Elisabeth Wilson, MD, MPH, the new director of PRIME-US
* Alma Martinez, MD, PRIME-US executive director
* Kevin Grumbach, MD, chair the PRIME-US Executive Committee
"Each of these faculty members brings a wealth of experience, passion and wisdom to this important program, and each has been involved in its creation and development," said David Kessler, MD, dean of the UCSF School of Medicine. "I especially want to acknowledge the vision, strong advocacy and leadership of Kevin Grumbach in making PRIME-US a reality at UCSF. We look forward to welcoming our PRIME-US students and preparing them to excel in their medical careers."
PRIME-US represents the first time in decades that UCSF has expanded the school's entering class. UCSF has accepted eight students into PRIME-US at UCSF and four into the Joint Medical Program (JMP) at UC Berkeley. UCSF's entering class of medical school students this year will be 151 students, increasing the total class size by 10.
The goals of the PRIME-US program are to:
* Attract medical students from diverse backgrounds who have a strong interest in caring for the urban underserved in the United States.
* Provide a medical education experience for these students to equip and support them to become leaders in the care of urban underserved communities.
* Enable these students to serve as a catalyst for others at UCSF and the JMP to appreciate the rewards and challenges of caring for the urban underserved.
* Increase the number of UCSF medical school graduates who choose to pursue careers devoted to improving the health care and health of the urban underserved through leadership roles as community-engaged clinicians, educators, researchers, and social policy advocates.
PRIME-US is one of four such programs in the University of California system, each focusing on a different underserved population. The UC Regents approved the program, which received some state support through the voter-approved Proposition 1D last November.
Elisabeth Wilson
As the new director of PRIME-US, Wilson will be responsible for the program and operations. Wilson received her medical and public health degrees from Tufts University and completed the UCSF family medicine residency at San Francisco General Hospital in 2001, followed by a three-year research fellowship.
Since joining the faculty in 2005, Wilson has pursued her commitment to reducing health disparities and increasing workforce diversity through medical education, research and clinical work. Wilson has been involved in PRIME-US since its early planning, and served as interim director during the successful PRIME-US pilot last year. She is an assistant clinical professor of family and community medicine.
Alma Martinez
A clinical professor of pediatrics and a member of the UCSF faculty since 1994, Martinez will serve as PRIME-US executive director. In this role, Martinez will be responsible for connecting PRIME-US with other School of Medicine programs, pipeline programs such as the Post-Baccalaureate Program, other UC schools, the University of California Office of the President and the community.
Martinez, who also serves as director of outreach and academic advancement for the School of Medicine, has worked for many years on ways to attract students from underrepresented communities into medicine.
Kevin Grumbach
A professor and chair of family and community medicine, Grumbach will chair the PRIME-US Executive Committee and continue to provide strategic perspective, oversight, advocacy and guidance to the program.
Grumbach led the effort to create PRIME-US, which implements strategies identified in his academic research on primary care physician supply in underserved communities, racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions and health disparities.
UCSF's colleagues at UC Berkeley are JMP Director John Swartzberg, MD, who also helped start PRIME-US, and Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, MD, MPH, JMP site director for PRIME-US.
Related Links:
Pilot Medical Education Program Addressing Underserved to Become OfficialUCSF Today, Jan, 16, 2007
