The California Medicine Scholars Program
California lacks a comprehensive strategy across its higher education systems to develop a pathway for a diverse physician workforce that the state’s population demands. California’s vulnerable communities overwhelmingly reside in health professional shortage areas like the Central Valley, rural communities, as well as low socio-economic urban micro-communities — and are now the same populations who have been hardest hit throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the communities targeted by The California Medicine Scholars Program (CMSP), a structured pathway that taps into the diversity of the California Community Colleges to support and increase the numbers of underrepresented minority physicians.
About the Scholars Program
California Medicine Scholars will be selected from community colleges that are part of the Regional Hubs of Healthcare Opportunity (RHHOs). Student participants will benefit from a support system that includes priority enrollment, enhanced curriculum, tailored advising, guidance and encouragement to utilize current transfer pathways, and medical school and clinical partnerships, among other support and mentoring services.
The California Medicine Scholars Program (CMSP) is a systemwide, collaborative pathway that provides a comprehensive statewide strategy to build a more robust and diverse primary care physician workforce through improved regional and statewide collaborations. The Regional Hubs of Healthcare Opportunity (RHHOs) are implementing the scholar’s program in their communities.
Community college students interested in being part of the program must complete an application for their regional hub. Students whose community colleges are in the UC Riverside or the UCSF-Fresno regional hubs should email info@california-medicine.org for more information. Students whose colleges are in the UC San Diego or the UC Davis regional hubs can access the applications from the following links: