The California Medicine Scholars Program will expand into Los Angeles with two regional hubs designed to help students pursue careers in medicine.
The Los Angeles hubs will be led by the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. A third hub will launch in the Bay Area, led by Chabot College, according to program.
Officials said the regional hubs connect California community colleges, four-year universities, medical schools, community health centers and community-based organizations to provide students with academic advising, mentorship, clinical exposure, internships, volunteer opportunities and other experiences designed to prepare them for medical school.
“By working with community colleges across the region and investing in students early, the David Geffen School of Medicine is helping build a physician workforce that trains, practices and remains in the California communities that need it most,” Jennifer Lucero, associate dean at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, said in a statement.
Demand for primary care physicians is expected to increase in the coming years as more than two-thirds of California counties experience low physician supply and high rates of preventable hospitalizations, officials said. The hubs are part of an effort to address the projected trends.
Keosha Partlow, vice provost of student affairs at Charles R. Drew University and interim associate dean of student affairs for its College of Medicine, said the initiative aligns with the university’s mission of improving health care access in South Los Angeles.
“CDU was founded sixty years ago because South Los Angeles deserved better access to healthcare and education,” Partlow said. “The CMSP is an example of how we continue to carry that legacy forward through our commitment to ensuring that students who grow up in our communities have a clear, supported and real pathway to becoming the physicians their communities need most.”
Established in 2022, the California Medicine Scholars Program currently serves approximately 800 students through four existing regional hubs led by the UC Riverside School of Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine and the UCSF Fresno Regional Campus, officials said.
With the expansion, the program will include seven regional hubs serving 56 California community colleges, 23 four-year universities and medical schools, and 42 community-based health organizations.