Leadership in Health Disparities Program (LHDP)

The eight-week summer program takes place in the quarter preceding first year and includes:

• Introduction to population health disparities
• Meetings with medical and community health leaders on issues of health disparities
• Weekly sessions on leadership development and conversations with physician leaders
• Exposure to faculty research opportunities across the scholarly concentrations
• Introductory Anatomy and Introduction to Patient Care courses integrating basic science, clinical science, and early hands-on patient history and exam experience
• Ongoing engagement with medical students, residents, and faculty working on health inequities

During the first two years of medical school, LHDP participants take part in a seminar series focused on the roots of health inequities, the role of physician leaders, and the challenges of leading in complex health systems.

Students enroll for the summer quarter at a reduced tuition rate. Participants receive a research assistantship covering research-rate tuition and a living expense stipend for the duration of the program, which in most cases offsets the majority of costs. Financial aid is not available for the summer program.

LHDP grew out of Stanford Medicine's Early Matriculation Program, founded in 1984 to support underrepresented medical students pursuing academic and leadership careers in medicine.