Powerful disparity-fighting weapon reauthorized at UNMC

The first time UNMC family medicine faculty member Tina Flores, M.D., saw a cadaver, it was as a student in a program similar to UNMC’s Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP).

Underrepresented, disadvantaged and rural students will continue to have such opportunities at UNMC thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) decision to reauthorize SMDEP at the medical center through 2011.

The program — which is funded by RWJF with matching support from UNMC — exposes such students, as well as those who have genuine desire to serve in underserved and rural communities, to medical and dental education. It helps participants gain the skills needed to be accepted to and successful in medical and dental school.

Charlene Macharia, a SMDEP scholar from the University of California, receives her white coat from Anpo Charging Thunder, M.D., of UNMC’s family medicine department. Macharia was among 80 scholars who recently spent time at UNMC as part of its newly-reauthorized Summer Medical and Dental Education Program.

“During the program, I took tough science classes and mock medical school exams,” said Dr. Flores, an assistant professor of family medicine. “By the time I entered medical school, I already had the confidence that I could succeed.”

Recently 80 students participated in the UNMC program for the summer, which marked the fifth consecutive year of SMDEP at the medical center.

SMDEP aims to create a more diverse health care workforce to help the nation confront the health disparities that exist in underserved and rural areas. UNMC is one of only 12 campuses in the nation to host the SMDEP program.

SMDEP is an outstanding and important pipeline program for underrepresented minority and rural students, said Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Rubens Pamies, M.D., principal investigator for the grant that supports the program.

Directors SMDEP at UNMC is directed by: Sonya Smith, Ed.D., J.D., associate vice chancellor for academic affairs; and Mary McNamee, Ph.D., assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs.

“This program provides outstanding opportunities to talented students and quite simply it is needed in today’s health care environment,” Dr. Pamies said. “We are grateful and appreciative for the continued support it’s received from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the UNMC community.”

UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., echoed Dr. Pamies’ sentiments about SMDEP.

“This is a high priority program in terms of confronting health care disparities,” Dr. Maurer said. “It’s a powerful tool to help foster a well-balanced workforce that can meet the needs of America.”

In five years, 33 SMDEP students have gained acceptance into UNMC’s various educational programs.

“This program has a proven track record of success and it’s great news for UNMC that it will continue here,” said Carly Crim, UNMC’s SMDEP coordinator.