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Introduction to PRIME-LC: A brief overview Melissa Perez

In 2004 the University of California pioneered the development of special Programs in Medical Education (PRIME) with a focus to train physicians who will better meet the needs of underserved populations in California. UC Irvine’s Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC) was the first of these programs, established in 2004.

PRIME-LC is a five-year dual degree, MD/Masters, program that recruits and trains future physicians with a passion for serving disadvantaged Latino communities, through linguistic competence and better socio-cultural understanding. One important way PRIME-LC accomplishes this goal is through a formal curriculum, in addition to the standard medical school curricula, which includes special cultural immersion experiences, graduate courses in Chicano Latino Studies (CLS), and clinical rotations in Latin America. During the

summer before medical school students are required to participate in graduate

coursework as well as a cultural immersion and clinical experiences, which includes traveling across California to learn about the diverse Latino communities in our state, while gaining leadership and advocacy skills. PRIME-LC students are also required to attend CLS graduate courses their second and third years of medical school. Furthermore, after successful completion of third year, students participate in a clinical rotation in Latin America, in order to learn about the country’s healthcare system and needs of the population. For the past three years this has taken place in Lima, Peru at the Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia, a well-respected teaching hospital and center of excellence. Finally, during fourth year, students go on to obtain a Masters degree of their choice, with the goal of gaining additional skills to better equip them in their mission to become physician leaders and advocates.

PRIME-LC’s first cohort graduated in 2009, making the class of 2016 its eighth

UCI PRIME-LC Newsletter

UC Irvine - Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community June 2016, Issue 1

graduating class. In our relatively short existence, PRIME-LC has made great strides in improving health for underserved Latino communities in California, and we’ve just gotten started! PRIME-LC Annual Retreat: The Birthplace of the PRIME-LC Committees Miguel Alvarez-Estrada

The annual PRIME-LC retreat is a greatly anticipated student-lead event that takes place every year on MLK weekend. It brings together both current PRIME-LC medical students and alumni to meet and greet each other, discuss program innovation and changes, provide advice and encouragement, and offer a warm and inviting environment for networking and bonding.

Students and alumni look forward to this annual event because it further ignites the chispa that gives us the strength to persevere and fulfill our mission of becoming physician leaders and advocates within medically underserved communities. Stories are shared, challenges are discussed, and successes are celebrated, as it offers a moment to reflect on both individual and group accomplishments.

At the 2015 PRIME-LC retreat, a system was proposed to ensure that the ideas suggested for program innovation and development were actionable and properly executed throughout the year – this is where the PRIME-LC Committees were born.

The Committees consist of three teams of medical students, each with a focus on supporting vital aspects of the program. One to three students from each committee are selected as liaisons that communicate with a general committee coordinator to streamline the information and update PRIME-LC faculty and staff.

The three committees and their goals consist of the following: 1. Curriculum & Innovation Committee (CIC): the goal of the CIC is to devise feasible action items from curriculum innovation and develop ideas proposed at the annual retreat; meets and discusses ideas with PRIME-LC faculty and staff throughout the year.

2. Outreach & Recruitment Committee (ORC): the goal of the ORC is to increase PRIME-LC awareness and offer mentorship 2015 Retreat in Fallbrook – group picture

by arranging workshops and panels at high schools, community colleges, undergraduate institutions, and pre-health conferences; contacts accepted PRIME-LC applicants to answer questions and offer guidance. 3. Professional Development Committee (PDC): the goal of the PDC is to promote and increase awareness of school, program, mentorship, and community resources; coordinates PRIME-LC tutoring; facilitates faculty, rotation, and community advisor relationships.

The PRIME-LC Committees and their members strive for excellence and advancing the mission of PRIME-LC.

Please feel free to contact the PRIME-LC committee members with any comments or inquiries: primelccommittees@gmail.com

! 2016 Retreat in Temecula – Miguel Alvarez-Estrada leading committee discussion

PRIME-LC Outreach & Recruitment Miguel Alvarez-Estrada

The Outreach and Recruitment Committee had a successful and memorable year, participating in eleven outreach and mentorship events. Students from various grade levels – high school to post-baccalaureate – were able to learn more about college, medical school, PRIME-LC, and the overall path to becoming a health professional through presentations, workshops, panels, and recruitment fairs. Most importantly however, it allowed PRIME-LC students to motivate aspiring health professionals from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds by sharing life experience as an example of perseverance.

Below are some photographed outreach events that have taken place in the past year:

! CSU Fullerton: Spanish for Health Services (SHS), PRIME-LC Presentation & Medical Student Panel, October 2, 2015

�UCLA Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine (CCM), PRIME-LC Presentation & Medical Student Panel, October 2015/April 2016

!

UC Berkeley: Biology Scholars Program (BSP), PRIME-LC Presentation & Medical Student Panel, October 16, 2015

! UC Irvine: Health Scholars Program, Interview Workshop & Mock Interviews, October 23, 2015

! CSU San Bernardino: Medical and Pre-Health Student Society (MAPSS) - 4th Annual Pre-Med & Pre-Health Conference, PRIME-LC Presentation, Panel, & Recruitment Fair, January 16, 2016

!Loara High School, Anaheim: Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP), PRIME-LC Medical Student Panel & Ultrasound Workshops, April, 2016

And lastly, a quote from a student:

The UCI PRIME-LC medical students made a wonderful impact on all our beautiful CCMers … it was honestly so wonderful and I can’t thank you enough for coming out to inspire them and encourage them!” – Pre-Med, UCLA CCM

Cuerpo, Mente y Alma PRIME-LC Meets Radio Santa Ana Gabby Ventura Radio Santa Ana is a radio project by the community for the community, produced out of the Centro Cultural de México in Santa Ana, California. Members of PRIME-LC contribute to the radio through the segment “Cuerpo, Mente y Alma,” an educational program that addresses matters of health and wellness. Topics in the past year have included mental health, homeopathic medicine, anti-inflammatory diets, diabetes information, and information about the Zika virus. The project originated through the work of Ruzan Orkusyan, second year PRIME-LC student, who made the first episode of the series as part of her 1st year PRIME-LC summer project. Since then, PRIME-LC cohorts take turns producing

one episode per month to contribute health and wellness knowledge to the community of Santa Ana. It now receives

funding from the California Medical

Association Foundation to help with recording equipment and advertising. Cuerpo, Mente y Alma currently streams every Saturday and Sunday at 9AM at www.radiosantaana.org and specific episodes can be found at: http://www.radiosantaana.org/cuerpo-mente-y-alma.html

Tune into Radio Santa Ana any time for great programs made by the people of the community of Santa Ana! The project is currently in the process of transitioning to live FM radio and everyone at Radio Santa

Ana is working hard to achieve this goal! Courage, Dedication and Hope: The Story of The Orange County Needle Exchange Program Mackenzie Cater On February 19th, 2016, Orange County did not have a single State Department of Public Health-authorized Needle Exchange Program. Needle Exchange Programs are harm-reduction centers where people who inject drugs can safely dispose of their used syringes in exchange for clean injection supplies. They have been proven to reduce Hepatitis C rates by up to 65%, HIV rates by up to 33%, and to reduce overall rates of injection drug use in the communities they serve (Kyle Barbour - Huffington Post). In the absence of a needle exchange center, injection drug users find themselves isolated, stigmatized and forced to dispose of used syringes by any means necessary.

Hope was found on February 20th 2016, the landmark-opening day of the first Orange County Needle Exchange Program (OCNEP). OCNEP was the brainchild of a group of then-first-year UCI SOM students, among them Jemma Alarcón (PRIME-LC), Kyle Barbour, Ivy Ewald (PRIME-LC), Jill Gottlieb (PRIME-LC), and Miriam McQuade. Expectedly, OCNEP faced an unjustified labyrinth of barriers, including excessive fundraising requests, threats of arrest and bureaucratic red tape that took the students and their allies a year and a half of hard work and perseverance to overcome. Thanks to their courage, hope, and dedication, OCNEP has now served 932 clients, collected 20,988 used needles, and distributed 34,995 clean syringes, making a difference for one of the most undeserved communities in Orange County.

If you would like more information about OCNEP, or to discuss how it was created, please visit the website at: www.ocnep.org.

PRIME-LC students recording

Clinical Rotation in Latin America, Lima, Peru Tim Muldoon This summer, PRIME-LC students finishing their third year will have the opportunity for a truly unique learning experience. They will be the fourth class to take advantage of PRIME’s clinical rotation at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Perú. While the facilities are modest at best by our standards, UPCH is one of the premier teaching hospitals in the country, treating patients from all over Perú. Under the guidance of faculty from the esteemed Department of Infectious, Tropical, and Dermatologic Diseases, PRIME students will see diseases they have only read about in books. Leishmaniasis, mycetoma, disseminated brucellosis, and every form of TB imaginable – these are just a few of the diagnoses likely to be seen in the Emergency Department, in addition to diseases common in the US that have progressed to advanced stages rarely seen in the US. Students will interview and examine patients, present them to teaching faculty, review labs and radiology, and discuss the complex factors affecting patient health – all 100% in Spanish. After mastering so many rotations during 3rd year, they will be challenged to learn whole new approaches, differentials, and sets of questions to ask in this profoundly different setting. The faculty at UPCH were truly amazing teachers, and this rotation rests among the most memorable and rewarding experiences of the entire five-year journey of PRIME-LC at UCI. This PRIME-LC cohort has endured the highs and lows of their MS3 year and is on the verge of dispersing far and wide for their masters studies. But this summer they will have a solid month of close quarters, new experiences, shared meals (and the GI upset that follows), and even the chance to travel to Machu Picchu and other locations in Perú. This rotation is yet another way that PRIME-LC sows linguistic and cultural competence, prepares students to treat patients in any setting, and makes medical school that much more exciting!

PRIME-LC Student Spotlights! Professional Development Krystal Jimenez In addition to passionate community service and outreach, PRIME-LC strives for excellence in professional training and development. We realize that in order to be true movers and shakers in our communities, we must first be excellent physicians who are well respected among peers and the professional community at large. On the path towards accomplishing this goal, PRIME-LC students regularly demonstrate excellence by going above and beyond to enhance their knowledge and leadership skills. Below are just few examples of students who have distinguished themselves in advancing their professional development.

National Conference on Health Disparities: Poster Presentation Bianca Marcella Rivas On March 9th 2016, David Daar, Miguel Alvarez-Estrada and Bianca Rivas presented a poster at the 9th Annual National Conference on Health Disparities in Washington, D.C. The poster focused on an abstract developed by Miguel and David that

explores the Spanish Speaking Latino Physician Shortage in the context of the Affordable Care Act. The research was conducted as

Figure 1First cohort to go to Peru, Summer 2014

an independent study project at the Paul Merage School of Business under the guidance of Dr. Abigail Alpert. Bianca Rivas plans to continue the exploration of the Spanish Speaking Latino Physician Shortage in the context of sub-specialties as part of her MBA independent study project. Each student was awarded an AGS travel grant to attend the conference and the cost of the poster was generously covered by PRIME-LC.

ACOG 2016 Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting: Poster Presentation

Melissa Perez On May 15th 2016, Melissa Perez, MS4, with the support of her mentor and PRIME-LC faculty member, Dr. Judith

Chung, presented her poster titled “Effects of US Acculturation and Obesity on Birth Outcomes Among Latina Women” at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 2016 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. This poster was adapted from her Masters thesis work.

2015 National Health Care for the Homeless Conference & Policy Symposium

Jemma Alarcon gave a workshop for over 60 attendees titled "Inconsistently wrong: point-in-time homeless counts in the United States" at the 2015 National Health Care for the Homeless Conference & Policy Symposium in Washington D.C.

Waste Not OC (WNOC) Student Coalition Victor Cisneros In partnership with WNOC Coalition, Victor founded the Student Coalition in order to lead the development of the WNOC mobile application to help minimize food insecurities in Orange County and across the US. Currently one in five children go hungry

every night in the US and we hope to utilize this mobile app to shift wasted food towards food dispensaries to increase food supply for the needy. The mobile app will be completely developed and sustained by students. Stay tuned for its release!

HONORS, AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS

Lesly Martinez, MS4, received the 2015 Kaiser Permanente Oliver Goldsmith, MD,

Scholarship. She was one of thirteen recipients that were selected nationally from a competitive pool of medical student applicants who demonstrated commitment to improving health care in

underserved communities.

Kara Percival, now 4th year PRIME-LC student, will be attending the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health for her Masters year, thanks to the Loan Relief Scholarship Award for students who plan to pursue public service careers in United States community-based areas and abroaddeveloping countries.

Gold Humanism Honor Society

! Congratulations to the newly inducted 2016 PRIME-LC members of GHHS!

Lesley Lara Vincent O'Brien Ana Ordaz Valencia Sam Saenz Gabriela Pauli-Saez Neil Saez

PRIME-LC Administration

For questions about newsletter please contact: Melissa Perez [mjperez@uci.edu]