High school students from Douglas, Kearney, Nogales, Payson, the Phoenix area (Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa), San Carlos, Sells, Tuba City, Tucson, Whiteriver, Winslow and Yuma successfully competed for a place in Med-Start, the health career interest and college-level engagement summer program at the Arizona Health Sciences Center (AHSC) in Tucson. For six weeks, they have been living on the University of Arizona campus while participating in the program which ends Saturday, July 11.
The highly competitive program is a proven success: 80 percent of its participants go on to enroll in higher education courses.
Med-Start has two goals: to address the critical shortage of a diverse health-care workforce and to provide high school students with opportunities to explore health careers and college experiences to successfully reach their academic and career goals.
Creating a diverse health-care workforce representative of the populations it serves is a priority for Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia, MD, UA senior vice president for health sciences. He and Francisco A. Moreno, MD, assistant vice president for diversity and inclusion at AHSC and professor of psychiatry and deputy dean for diversity and inclusion of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, are leaders in AHSC’s efforts to recruit and train a knowledgeable, inclusive and diverse health-care workforce committed to eliminating health disparities.
Med-Start is one of several AHSC programs created to promote health equity and wellness in Arizona’s communities, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, geography, environment or socioeconomic status. Since 1969, more than 1,000 high school students, including students from Arizona’s most remote and under-represented areas, have been accepted into Med-Start. The Merlin K. “Monte” DuVal Memorial Med-Start Endowment was established to generate funds to support the Med-Start program.
This year, 46 Med-Start participants selected from underserved communities in Arizona have been experiencing college life, living in University of Arizona dorms and earning four units of college credit through the UA. The high school students take an English composition class, an introductory chemistry lab and a math course; learn about college success strategies in structured “College 101” workshops; and conduct research.
Med-Start students also participate in interactive presentations throughout AHSC, learning skills needed in health professions, such as responding to trauma incidents, treating fractures and neck and spine injuries, and learning dissection and suturing skills. They tour the UA College of Medicine – Tucson human gross anatomy lab and Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) simulation lab. They learn basic toxicology in a lab activity using blackworms, and also learn to make lip balm and anti-itch lotion.
Med-Start students travel throughout Arizona, visiting the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix and other universities, including Northern Arizona University and Grand Canyon University. They also learn from health-care professionals who work with diverse populations at the Tubac Fire Department, the El Rio Health Center in Tucson and Tuba City Regional Health Care.
For more information about AHSC diversity programs, please visit the UA College of Medicine – Tucson Office of Diversity and Inclusion website: www.diversity.medicine.arizona.edu
Arizona high schools and the students who participated in Med-Start 2015:
Alchesay High School: Justin Begay, Shauntel Colelay, Shantel T. Harris, Corleone Hastings, Brittney K. Skidmore
Amphitheater High School: Joseph A. Cuellar
Andrada Polytechnic High School, Jeremih P. Chase
Baboquivari High School: Jeannette L. Puella, Tayah M. Yazzie
Betty H. Fairfax High School: Camriana Pondexter
Catalina Foothills High School: Anna Maria Driesen
Central High School: Ruben J. Chacon, Angel A. Saucedo, Briana Urbina
Cibola High School: Angel M. Cruz
City High School: Gabriel J. Martinez
Douglas High School: Susan Resenderiz, Yessica Vasquez
Glendale High School: Erick O. Jaquez, Martin Ng
Ha:san Preparatory and Leadership School: Amos A. Stevens
Kofa High School: Kimberly A. Ramos
Mesa High School: Cristina Aguirre
Millennium High School: Gissel V. Marquez
Nogales High School: Aikka J. Ybarra
North High School: Brianna Cervantes
Payson High School: Marena H. McKeen
Ray Junior-Senior High School: Nepeese Avechuco
Rio Rico High School: Jesus M. Arenas, Azaph Crespo, Victor Miranda
Sahuarita High School: Victoria Castro
Saint Mary's Catholic High School: Nydia E. Salazar-Calderon
San Carlos Secondary School: Tristan L. Ganilla, Diondre Hooke, Adrianna S. Haozous, Martessa J. Norman, Kristian L. Pechuli, Delbert D. Talawyma Jr.
San Luis High School: Kathya Ceniceros
Sunnyside High School: Javier S. Bastidas
Tuba City High School: Myah R. Iron
Vista Grande High School: Sean M. Mendoza
Williams Field High School: Luciano Hernandez
Willow Canyon High School: Maryam A. Sainz
Winslow High School: Bradley D. Kanuho
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About The Arizona Health Sciences Center (AHSC)
The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center (AHSC) is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. AHSC is comprised of the UA Colleges of Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, AHSC reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater desert southwest in providing cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, AHSC employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: http://ahsc.arizona.edu
