PATHWAY PROGRAMS FOR THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS

LOS ANGELES AREA

  • Cedars-Sinai Minors in Research initiative is designed to provide 11th grade students (ages 16-18) an overview of biomedical research, access to faculty members as mentors, and an opportunity to develop and enhance skills for college and career readiness.

  • Cedars-Sinai Youth Employment & Development Program (YED) provides 45 area high school juniors and seniors each year a chance to earn school credits, get valuable mentoring and work experience. This program is also a paid work experience, where students get a paycheck that can help them pay for college.

  • Ignite LA Student Science Awards is an innovative program that aims to stimulate curiosity and interest in science and technology through participation in a fully-funded, scientific research expedition during the summer.Ignite is seeking applications from Los Angeles County high school students who are sophomores and juniors in high school.

  • Project Stride - Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science (CDU) is a ten week summer clinical research program for 11th grade high school students whose goal is to increase the number of underrepresented minority and disadvantaged students in the pipeline who are committed to research careers in the health and biomedical sciences. Program participants will be primarily from King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science, Alliance Health Sciences Academy and other high schools in the Watts community of South Los Angeles.

  • Samuels Family Latino and African American High School Internship (LA-HIP) at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles provides Latino and African-American public high school students that have a genuine interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) with the opportunity to learn hands-on laboratory-based research and to support them in their quest to become scientists or physician scientists.

  • Hippocrates Circle is a pathway program for middle school students (6th-8th) to provide youth from under-represented communities and diverse backgrounds with awareness that a career as a physician is possible. Through the collaborative efforts of the local school districts, Medical schools, and the physicians from the Southern California Permanente Medical Group and Kaiser Permanente sponsorship, the Hippocrates Circle Program will strive to strengthen the self-esteem of young people and empower them to pursue their goal to become a physician. With regional programs across L.A. and Orange County, this year’s programs will provide virtual learning for students to participate.

  • Kaiser Permanente Summer Youth Employment Program provides underserved or at-risk high school students with supportive and meaningful employment experiences in the healthcare field.  Also known as L.A.U.N.C.H. (Learn About Unlimited New Careers in Healthcare), participants attend educational sessions and motivational workshops that introduce them to the possibilities of pursuing a career in health care.  Many former program participants are now employed at Kaiser Permanente as nurses, department administrators, lab technicians, opticians and engineers. Brochure with more information can be found on website.

Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science K-12 Pipeline PROGRAMS - SOUTH L.A.

Charles Drew University provides unique academic programs to expand the educational capacity of underrepresented youth to ensure their long-term success, health, and well-being across the South L.A. community. CDU currently offers Pre-K to 12th grade student’s pathway to careers in medicine, science, research and health through various pipeline programs. Highlighted programs include:

  • Community Health Youth Advocates educates young scholars about the healthcare landscape, exposes them to local and global health disparities, and empowers them to pave their own path toward a degree and career in the healthcare field. Students who successfully complete the entire program will receive a $1,000 stipend.

  • Opportunity Scholars Public Health Academy (PHA) is an enrichment program in which High School Students interested in improving community health through public health professions develop skills to prepare them for higher education and build networks within health professions. 10th-12th grade students accepted into this program participate in educationally enriching experiences that includes a paid 4-week summer program, internship, mentorship, tutoring, mental health course curriculum, SAT Preparation and college preparation courses.

  • CDU MedSimulations (MedSim) prepares high school students for the rigors of post-secondary education, exposes them to real life medical simulations, clinical skills and encourages them to pursue higher education with a focus in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or medical (STEM) professions.

  • Los Angeles Pediatrics Society (LAPS) established the Eve and Gene Black Summer Medical Career Program in 1969 with a purpose to encourage high school students to choose careers in the health professions. Self-described as a medial mentor program, students are selected to work under the supervision of a health care educator/medical facility coordinator at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, shadowing various medical professionals (nurse, nutritionist, pharmacist, lab technician, physician and/or medical specialist etc.)

BAY AREA

  • The Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR) is an eight-week program in which high school students from diverse backgrounds are invited to perform basic research with Stanford faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students and researchers on a medically-oriented project. The goals of the program include increasing interest in biological sciences and medicine in high school students, helping students to understand how scientific research is performed, and increasing diversity of students and researchers in the sciences.

  • Program for Investigation and Training in Careers in Health (PITCH) is a three-week, unpaid internship at UCSF for current high school students. At PITCH, students will conduct research under the guidance of UCSF students, meet with professors, receive college advising, participate in labs, and much more.

  • COSMOS is an intensive four-week summer residential program at UC Davis for students who have demonstrated an aptitude for academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Talented and motivated students completing grades 8-12 have the opportunity to work with renowned faculty, researchers and scientists in state-of-the-art facilities, while exploring advanced STEM topics far beyond the courses usually offered in California high schools.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT & COLLEGE PREP

Leadership DEVELOPMENT

  • Bank of America Student Leaders Program connects 225 community-minded high school juniors and seniors to employment, skills development and service. Students are awarded a paid summer internship with local nonprofits such and participate in a national leadership summit in Washington, D.C. The Student Leaders Summit focuses on skill building and creating a more civically engaged society.

  • Annenberg Youth Academy for Media and Civic Engagement is a four-week summer intensive academy for 26 talented high school students from the communities surrounding the USC University Park and Health Science Campuses. Students are exposed to the equivalent of first-year college-level courses and develop a rich conceptual understanding and practice of the necessary role that media communications and journalism play in fashioning civic-minded thought leaders and innovators. -

  • California Youth & Government (Y&G) provide positive opportunities and experiences for youth. Participants strengthen their communities by becoming active and responsible contributors who are inspired to lead, and are empowered to create meaningful change.  Chapters are located throughout the state; explore the website to find the nearest one to you.

  • Youth Leadership America (YLA) aims to develop youth leaders through collaboration and mentorships with community/business leaders for the collective benefit of the students and their communities.

  • Expanding Horizons Internship (EHI) has provided first-generation, college-bound high school students in the Los Angeles area with an intensive experience of skill development and personal growth that prepares them for college, career, and civic life. The EHI program begins with interactive seminars in the spring and concludes with a paid summer internship at a prestigious law firm, corporation, government agency, or non-profit organization.

    College Prep

  • Pomona College Academy for Youth Success (PAYS) enrolls over 90 local high school students and seeks to support them in preparing for admission to selective and highly selective colleges and universities.  PAYS scholars engage in a thought-provoking combination of courses, cultural events, workshops, projects and field trips during the intensive 4-week, residential program as well as throughout the academic year.  PAYS serves rising sophomores through rising seniors from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education—students who are first in their family to attend college; from low income families; and from African American, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander, and/or part of other underrepresented racial or ethnic groups.

  • USC Bovard Scholars program is a college preparedness program that helps students determine their ideal career, provide personalized test preparation, foster educational, career and personal goals, and walks students through each question of a college application to let applicants know what admissions committees are indirectly asking. Students apply for USC Bovard Scholars during their junior year in high school, and selected students receive one-on-one guidance — personalized to meet their individual needs — at no cost to students or families.