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Physicians Recruited as Mentors
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The School of Medicine's Center of Excellence is recruiting faculty to help repeat the success of last summer's Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), a six-week residential program for minority and disadvantaged college students planning to pursue careers in medicine. HCOP targets students between their sophomore and junior years in college who have shown promise and an interest in medicine. They are recruited through pre-med advisers at local community colleges and at public and private four-year schools. The program includes a cell biology course, an anatomy laboratory, science-related field trips, clinical "shadowing," exposure to medical research, and workshops on medical school admissions. The participation of Stanford faculty and local clinicians as teachers and role models is critical to the program's success, said HCOP assistant director Kathryn Fitzgerald. Last summer, more than 50 physicians and researchers from the Bay Area participated as lecturers, guest speakers and mentors. "We all stand on the hopes, dreams and works of others, [and] when we succeed we must remember those who helped us and reach out to those who will follow us," said Ronald Garcia, director of the Center of Excellence and of HCOP. Physician shadowing, in which students follow clinicians on their daily rounds, is a key element of the program. Dr. Harcharan Gill, an assistant professor of urology, said he was impressed by the HCOP students who shadowed him last summer. "These are young people with tremendous potential," Gill said. "They learn that there are opportunities for them, and they go back into their communities and act as a source of information and encouragement for other people thinking of pursuing a professional career." The typical commitment for physicians taking part in the clinical shadowing is one morning per week during clinical activities. This year's HCOP students will be at Stanford from June 21 through July 31. The program's organizers are also looking for guest lecturers on topics in family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology and minority health issues, Fitzgerald said. Physicians who want to learn more about the program may contact Fitzgerald at 498-4003 or e-mail her at kathrynf@leland.stanford.edu. |
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