The Office of Educational Development runs two summer
programs for preprofessional students with disadvantaged backgrounds:
the Research Apprenticeship program (RAP)
for high school students, and the Medical Education
Development Program (MED) for college students.
Rising juniors and seniors
from high schools across North Carolina are invited to apply for RAP, a seven-week
program that gives disadvantaged students an opportunity to develop their knowledge
of and competence in science. Through hands-on research experience under the mentorship of a clinical or basic research scientist, the opportunity to shadow a clinician, and visits to nationally known research institutions, RAP participants are encouraged to develop an interest in a research career in the life sciences, especially health science.
The MED program offers a structured, rigorous summer curriculum at the level of professional education to increase the
ability of advanced pre-professional candidates,
especially those who are disadvantaged, to compete sucessfully for admission
to health professional schools. Rising college seniors
or postgraduates whose records show educational and professional
promise, as well as some students who have been admitted for the upcoming academic year to the UNC Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, may be selected for the program.
Links to student run organizations targeting disadvantaged youth in elementary through medical school. These programs aim to spark an interest in the sciences and medicine in particular with the goal of increasing recruitment of disadvantaged students into health careers to serve North Carolina's medically underserved citizens.
The University of North Carolina Chapter of the SNMA aims to improve the health status of North Carolina's medically underserved citizens in addition to enhancing the preparation, recruitment and retention of disadvantaged students interested in health careers.
YSEP targets disadvantaged elementary and middle school students to stimulate their interest in the sciences and health professions. In four Saturday Sessions during the fall, medical students lecture on different organ systems. Students then find information on diseases affecting these systems using the Internet and present their findings to their peers.
The primary goal of HPREP
is to increase the presence of disadvantaged groups in the health professions.
Health professionals and medical students lecture to high school students in four Saturday Sessions to expose them to different health careers during the spring.
The Office
of Educational Development sponsors several programs designed to encourage and
support disadvantaged students in pursuing health careers. In addition, the Student National Medical Association
(SNMA) sponsors additional programs.
