Diversity Hub

Underrepresented in Medicine (UIM) provides racial and ethnic minority students, students from lower-income households, and students who are the first in their family to attend medical school easy access to mentoring. UIM and its mentoring project aim to provide targeted experiences to 1st and 2nd year medical students with less inherent medical experience before they start 3rd year and are evaluated (in part) on their medical school cultural knowledge on the wards. We aim to begin providing this advantage by facilitating mentorship from physicians from all across the Bay Area. These volunteers will donate their time to invest in the next generation of medical professionals, and bestow in them the institutional knowledge, wisdom and emotional support they have acquired throughout their years in medicine.

Our purpose is to provide a standing mechanism to deal with the issues that arise out of conflict and to promote the general welfare of Filipinos at UCSF by organizing a forum and other special events and fostering cross cultural exchange activities with staffs and students. We serve as the voice of the Filipino Community in social events, UCSF multi cultural functions, all diversity functions including Community of Minority Organization (COMO).

VSA at UCSF engages our inter-professional community with a rich and multi-faceted view of Vietnamese Culture through cultural events, community involvement, and medical Vietnamese elective. We have always been one of the most active cultural organizations on campus and continue to host annual events to promote cultural awareness including the Fall Banquet to welcome new students, Winter Holiday Potluck, Vietnamese New Years (Tet) Festival, Black April Commemoration for the Fall of Saigon, and our Spring Vietnamese Culture Show. All events feature talented student volunteers as singers, actors, and dancers. We also invite students to participate in our medical Vietnamese elective each quarter, which provide interactive learning of a very useful and elegant language. In the past, VSA has also collaborated with other cultural RCO at UCSF to promote diversity and tolerance.

Women in Life Sciences (WILS) is an organization run by UCSF trainees, that is dedicated to supporting women graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and staff at UCSF by organizing networking, mentoring, and career-building activities. Men and women are both welcome to attend all meetings and events.

The Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) is a national, non-profit organization comprised of oral health professionals and students dedicated to promoting and improving the oral health of the Hispanic community. In addition, they provide advocacy for Hispanic oral health professionals across the US. As one of the leading voices for Hispanic oral health in California, the UCSF student chapter of HDA promotes service, health education, advocacy and leadership to strengthen our Hispanic student community at UCSF. To reach this goal, we organize health fairs and mentorship events as well as socials, fundraisers, and community service events. In addition, we partner with the Chicanos/Latinos for Health Education (CHE), an organization where the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Dentistry at UCSF come together to reach our main objective to one day eliminate health disparities in the Bay area.

This program is offered to resident applicants and to those who attend medical school here at UCSF. Through this program applicants tour UCSF, have lunch with our faculty and Chair, as well as some of the residents prior to attending the campus. The Diversity Day program offered by the Graduate Medical Education Office.

PROF-PATH (Promoting Research Opportunities Fully-Prospective Academics Transforming Health) is a research and academic career development program for health professions students funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities. We train UCSF students from underrepresented in medicine (UIM) backgrounds regardless of research area focus, and students interested in health disparities research regardless of background. PROF-PATH provides funding, classes, mentorship, community, and opportunities for training for students from all four UCSF professional schools. Our goal is to help students make the most of the rich research and academic career development opportunities available at UCSF.

SACNAS (the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos and Native Americans in Science) at UCSF is a chapter of the National SACNAS Organization, whose mission is to promote the recruitment, retention and career development of underrepresented minorities in the sciences. SACNAS at UCSF is committed to preparing and empowering underrepresented minorities to become leaders that will have a positive impact in our society. To accomplish this, SACNAS at UCSF organizes academic, professional, community service and social activities, creating an enriched environment and support network that serves all of its members and the UCSF community.

The purpose of the Minority Training Program in Cancer Control Research (MTPCCR) is to increase ethnic diversity in the field of cancer control research by encouraging minority students in master's level health programs as well as master's trained health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in research. The program has been designed to enhance participants'; (1) Understanding of the power of research to effect change; (2) Awareness of the strengths and limitations of research methods, theory, and interventions in eliminating health disparities; (3) Interest in cancer control research, from surveillance to epidemiology, individual behavior change, health services, and policy research; and (4) Research, networking, information seeking skills, and motivation and ability to successfully apply to a doctoral program.

The Filipino Dental Student Coalition is an organization with a mission to unify the UCSF dental community in providing care and oral health education to the Filipino population. Furthermore, we strive to develop interest in health professions in Filipino-American youth, create and maintain a network of information and resources between dental care professionals, and foster appreciation and awareness of Filipino culture.