By Valley Business Journal
The City of Temecula has formed a new partnership with the UCR School of Medicine that involves expanding their existing pipeline program for pre-medical and health care students called the Future Physician Leaders Program (FPL).
The Future Physician Leaders Program is a community-based collaborative effort started in 2009 by Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz, former Emergency Medicine Physician at Eisenhower Medical Center and Senior Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Partnership at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) School of Medicine. It is a long term mentorship program for students interested to fulfill a mission of service to the community. The program aims to resolve the physician shortage in the Inland Empire by establishing home-grown physicians in underserved areas.
The program is seven weeks during the summer and the students in the program participate in three different components: didactic, community service and leadership, and physician shadowing. The didactic component of the program consists of lectures, workshops, and group discussions held primarily in the summer along with networking events with physicians and healthcare leaders throughout the rest of the year. The community service and leadership aspect of the program allows students the kinesthetic learning experience of community health and gives them the opportunity to educate, aware or improve healthcare access and disparities to their community. Physician shadowing exposes students to a physician’s life and patient-doctor interaction in the effort to inspire the students to do similar work.
There are three sites for the program; Coachella Valley based out of the UCR Palm Desert Center, the Riverside- San Bernardino program based out of the UCR School of Medicine, and a new site here in Temecula based out of the Temecula Valley Hospital. The program is intended for students that are from the Inland Southern California region. The program is intended to mentor students throughout college, medical school and even their residency.
The students accepted are enrolled in local high schools, colleges and universities, and medical schools. Applicants must be at least 18 years old to participate in the shadowing rotations but the only other requirement to participate is commitment. Due to limited openings in Temecula, priority will be given to undergraduates and college graduates.
If you have any questions or want additional information in regard to the Temecula branch please contact Charles Walker, the Program Director, at 951-694-6468 or Charles.walker@cityoftemecula.org