Diversity Hub

Our mission is to provide access to quality health care for underserved people of California. This is accomplished by linking academic training programs with training sites in urban and rural underserved areas of the state such as community clinics and health centers, hospitals and other community based sites. The California AHEC has 13 centers, each responsible for a geographic service area in an urban or rural part of the state. Each center develops its own programs based on the needs of their service area and include continuing education for health professionals and staff working in underserved communities; rotations and other community experiences for health professions students and residents and youth health careers programs for underrepresented minority and other disadvantaged K-14 students. Each of these programs seeks to train future HPs, recruit and retain health professionals for community clinics and health centers and other types of sites that provide medical/dental and behavioral health services to the underserved populations of CA.

The vision of the PLUS program is that its graduates will be pediatrician-leaders who are creating systematic and sustainable improvements to the health of underserved children. Our mission is to train and inspire future leaders in pediatrics to identify and address the various issues that impact the health of children from vulnerable communities. Through a unique blend of classroom lessons, targeted mentorship, and project-based applications, PLUS trains the passionate advocates of today to be the leaders of tomorrow.

This year-long, structured program is designed for first time applicants who believe they need additional preparation in order to be competitive applicants and for previously unsuccessful applicants to dental school. The program are especially interested in individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, underserved communities and/or from groups traditionally underrepresented in the profession. The comprehensive program is designed to help participants become more competitive dental school applicants in a future admission cycle, and consists of the following key elements; (1) Mentoring and academic advising; (2) A full year of upper division science course work through the University of California, Berkeley Extension; (3) Assistance with the dental school application process; (4) Academic and learning skills development; (5) Intensive DAT review course; (6) Faculty mentoring; and (7) Interprofessional collaboration with the Medical and Pharmacy post-baccalaureate programs.

The UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach is excited to announce the launch of the Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program as a professional development and training opportunity for staff. This initiative is in alignment with the Chancellor's priority on Equity and Inclusion. The curriculum focuses on exploring foundational concepts essential to enhancing an inclusive work environment, through lecture, experiential activities, and independent learning activities. The 4-month Certificate Program's curriculum is designed for the adult learner to have a more self-directed approach to learning. Each curriculum unit has a required core reading assignment, and a number of supplemental readings, video clips, or audio clips to choose from based on learning preference (2 hours minimum for each unit).

The program creates defined educational paths so that individuals can develop focused teaching skills and receive a certificate in recognition of achievement. The program is open to current and future faculty at UCSF and at affiliated institutions (i.e., residents, fellows, volunteer faculty). Participants complete specific sets of UCSF Educational Skills Workshops. Credit toward the certificate is given after demonstration of competence through assessments that are completed during each workshop. Currently, certificate tracks include: 1) General Teaching; 2) Clinical Teaching; 3) Simulation Teaching; 4) Interprofessional Teaching; 5) Teaching Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QI/PS); 6) Education Leadership.

We in the department of Neurosurgery are working in partnership with the non-profit organization Oasis for Girls to offer paid internship programs for underserved high school female youth of color (ages 14-18) to expose them to medical and healthcare professional careers with mentorship, career path exploration, and professional development through hospital rotations in labs, the OR, and other academic or healthcare locations, with research projects, presentations, and interactive activities. We accept a group of 15-18 youth per cycle with 3 application / intern cycles per year. We are expanding our programs to reach other demographics (e.g. young Black males, LGBTQ+ youth, college pre-med students). Altogether these programs are housed under the title Neurosurgery Community Internship Programs (NCIP).

Inside UCSF is an annual outreach program geared towards students at two- and four-year degree schools who are interested in pursuing careers in health and science. This interprofessional opportunity is designed to: introduce students to a specific health science career path; provide opportunities to meet with students and faculty; and offer a chance to become inspired about future career possibilities.

This innovative program, started in 2009, educates students and providers about healthcare disparities faced by members of the LGBTQI community. Specialists in LGBTQI healthcare are brought together to discuss a wide range of topics including transgender health, bisexual invisibility, lesbian health, intersex awareness, gay men's health, youth and aging issues, and LGBTQI parenting. Attendees are given the opportunity to interact with specialists through small breakout sessions and panel discussions featuring community professionals and patients. The forum includes several opportunities for professional networking and is offered as elective credit for current UCSF students.

CTRFP is a yearlong pre-doctoral training program open to students in UCSF School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy and School of Dentistry. The program provides training and mentorship to pre-doctoral students in clinical and translational research methodology and practice. Students who wish to participate must take a year off from their studies and commit one year (July-June) to clinical and translational research work under the guidance of a UCSF mentor. The program is also available to medical students outside of UCSF through the Doris Duke International Clinical Research Fellowship (details can be found here: CTR Fellowship Programs International Research). Funding for this yearlong program is available to students through RAPtr and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

The vast majority of people holding biomedical PhDs find work, but the number of PhDs who obtain tenure-track faculty positions now represents a shrinking minority. The MIND program is an experiment in career development and exploration, funded by an NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) award. We hope to provide better resources for students and postdocs who wish to explore the wide range of possible career outcomes that are available to biomedical trainees, and better support for the faculty who mentor them. Program is funded through an NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) Award.