2004 Medical Student Community Leadership Grants
St. George Society Oncology Interest Group
The St. George Society at the Keck-USC School of Medicine
is a student run organization affiliated with the American
Cancer Society, and has been active for over 20 years. The
goal of the organization is to provide a forum in which
medical students can further explore the field of oncology
through exposure to recent advances in both clinical medicine
and basic science. The lectures series offered by this program
serves as a supplement to the medical school curriculum.
UCLA AMWA: Annual Meeting Attendance
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA aims to advance
women in medicine and improve women's health. Part of this
program is geared toward Domestic Violence Prevention training,
a weeklong program that attracts over 100 participants each
day. The program also encourages student leadership and
community involvement. With this in mind, outreach programs
such as "In Touch with Teens" (educating students
about relationship violence) and the "Prenatal Care
Program" (pairing medical students with expecting mothers
in the community) give students an opportunity to practice
patient - physician interactions. One of the main goals
of this program is to inspire new ideas amongst students
that will further their mission of education, outreach and
advancing women in medicine.
South Asian Health Association Community Health Screening
This entirely student run organization at UCLA is designed to promote health
and awareness to the South Asian community – which is faced with many health
epidemics. The organization has two primary goals for the health screening,
1) to provide basic preventative care and patient education to the medically
underserved South Asian population, and 2) to promote issues pertaining to
South Asian health. Students were prompted to begin this community outreach
due to an above average incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity
within the South Asian community. This grant helps cover the cost of two health
fairs that focus on the underserved community within the South Asian population,
offering screenings for blood pressure, anemia, cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes.
MedLink
Medlink is a program designed to reach out to underserved and underrepresented
high school juniors from resource poor areas in the San Francisco and Central
San Joaquin Valley – both urban and rural. MedLink offers academic support
in the areas of college preparation and medically related science lessons, as
well as personal support through mentorship and encouragement. Medical students
participants become providers of community service, and also receive a better
understanding of underserved communities. UCSF students also have the opportunity
to practice the skills necessary for becoming a successful physician while reaching
out to a group in the community that are deserving of the education necessary for
college preparation. This grant would help provide supplies (printing, copies, binders, etc),
transportation, T-shirts, food for the student participants.
Plexus: University of Irvine Medical Center Humanities Magazine
Plexus is a student-run annual magazine that is dedicated to humanities in medicine.
For over five years, Plexus has published and distributed the visual artwork, creative
writing and music / audio works of all affiliates of the University of California,
Irvine College of Medicine and Medical Center. Through their Humanities Magazine, the
Plexus organization encourages the pursuit of the humanistic ideal in health care among
medical school and medical center affiliates. Through this grant they will be distributing
their magazine not just to their paying subscribers but all into the waiting rooms of
doctors offices, clinics and hospitals throughout Orange County. Their goal is to give
every patient the opportunity to understand the medical profession, and give healthcare providers a
chance to talk about their profession.
Stanford University, Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, Western Regional Conference
In California alone, 12.9% of the population identifies themselves as being of
Asian descent. The highest density of these individuals resides in the San Francisco
Bay Area making up 20.96% of the population. The concern associated with this
population however is not that they makeup a large part of the population, but that
they are at risk of poor health care. The goal of this conference is to educate these
individuals who do not speak English or have little understanding of the health care system.
Through this conference, medical students hope to acknowledge the diversity within a group
of people known collectively as “Asian Americans.” This conference offers a network for
people to share rising concerns about the state of health of the underserved; moreover, it will encourage attendees to work towards the equitable distribution of health care and
alleviation of health care disparities.
UCI Southern California EMIG Conference
The UCI Emergency Medicine Interest Group (EMIG) held a conference that served as
an introduction to ACLS for medical students from all Southern California allopathic
and osteopathic programs to expose medical students to the field of emergency medicine
through lectures and hands-on simulations revolving around the initial response to a
cardiac emergency and the sequence of events that follow. In order to make this
conference successful supplies such as rental of full body simulation devices,
copying of packets, flyers and such, workshop supplies and equipment rental were needed.
UCSF, Beyond the Border to Good Health (BBHG)
Beyond the Border to Good Health is a community service project developed by UCSF
students to provide health screening, education and referral services through local
health fairs to underserved families at the California-Mexico border. The project
is expanding to increase awareness of the importance of child health through basic
health screening and culturally sensitive, bilingual health education activities for
children and parents, and to develop a resource manual that will compile information
about service organizations, including contact details and eligibility criteria. In order
to perform these services, students will travel to the border region for education on how
border issues are being addressed and to assess the needs of the community. They will
participate in seminars given by contacts at the CDC Infectious Disease Unit, a TB expert,
and people involved in assessing access to local clinics. The students will also offer
their services at an annual vaccination fair. This grant will help the students with the
cost of transportation, housing and food, Fair materials, and also reimburse community
leaders for their time and travel expenses.
The Willow Project
The mission of the UC Davis School of Medicine student run homeless clinic is to
improve the health and well being of individuals who are homeless, while raising
the awareness of medical students to the unique needs of this traditionally ignored
population. Using the tools of screening, education, and advocacy the students
strive to detect and prevent disease, to teach basic life skills, and to promote
utilization of community services. The goal is for each patient to catalyze their transition from
control of personal health to self-reliance and ultimately to understanding their ability to
contribute; and for each student to incite appreciation for the diversity of health care needs and
foster commitment to improve the responsiveness of medicine towards everyone.
UCI-AMA Business and Politics in Medicine Seminar
The UC Irvine Chapter of the American Medical Association has developed a didactic
seminar on the role of business and politics in medicine. In this 10-week course,
students will meet physicians, CEOs, politicians, and various professionals in a
series of lectures and workshops designed to introduce students to the many challenges
they will encounter as physicians in a dynamic healthcare system. The purpose of this
course is to fill a gap in the students’ medical education, as well as empower them to
become leaders in the changing face of healthcare.
Click here to return to the Medical Student Community Leadership Grant project page or view grants given in other years:
2006
2005
2003
2002-2001
