Leadership in Health Disparities Program (LHDP)
Congratulations on your acceptance to the Stanford University School of Medicine! We are excited that you are considering Stanford for your medical training. We also invite you to consider participating in The Leadership in Health Disparities Program (LHDP) sponsored by the Center of Excellence and the Stanford School of Medicine. The LHDP has two components, the Summer Early Matriculation Program and a year long seminar series on leadership in health disparities. The goal of the program is to produce the next generation of health leaders to address the health disparities of the nation.
Program History and Goals
The original Early Matriculation Program was established in 1984 in order to encourage students from populations underrepresented in the health professions to pursue careers as leaders in academic and clinical medicine. The program has had a very successful track record in exposing students to health disparity issues and promoting research in these areas. Many past EMP students have gone on to successful careers in academics, and as leaders in clinical, basic and social medicine. This year we are expanding the EMP to a year long program that begins with the Summer EMP and continues through the first year. The program provides students with knowledge of health disparities in a variety of fields and helps develop their leadership skills to prepare for leadership roles in health disparities. A brief description is given below.
Summer EMP
The EMP component is comprised of an eight-week program that is offered during the summer quarter preceding the first year of medical school. It offers students the following activities:
- Introduction to faculty leaders in the scholarly concentrations
- Research opportunities with faculty in one of the scholarly concentrations
- Weekly sessions on developing scientific proposals
- A course on the integration of concepts of basic science with clinical science
- Meetings with the medical school's leadership and community health care leaders
- Interactions with medical students, residents, and faculty interested in health disparities
- Introduction to population disparities, disparities in clinical practice, and understanding disparities through basic science.
- Early clinical experiences in ward and outpatients services
Students who participate in the EMP receive a research assistantship which provides funding for the summer quarter.
Leadership in Health Disparities
The second component of the program is a monthly seminar series throughout the academic year which exposes students to leaders in health disparities, and further developing their leadership skills. These activities will assist you in understanding how leaders achieve their positions and use their influence to improve people's health. The year long program will increase your knowledge of health disparities, provide you exposure to leaders in the field, and provide an opportunity to develop leadership skill and networks which will be significant use to your career development.
Contacts
The summer EMP is scheduled to start Tuesday, June 23, 2009, and will end in early August 2009. If you are interested in more information regarding the program please contact Fernando Mendoza ( ) or Mark Gutierrez via e-mail () or at (650) 725-0385.
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the program are the life time relationships formed between classmates. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding the program.