Organization Information
Lead Organization
UC Davis School of Medicine
Who engaged in this project?
California Medicine Scholars Program
California Community Colleges Foundation
Community College Partners:
American River College
California Tribal College
College of the Redwoods
College of the Siskiyous
Cosumnes River College
Folsom Lake College
Mendocino College
Sacramento City College
Shasta College
Sierra College
Solano Community College
Woodland Community College
Yuba College
4-Year University Partners:
Cal Poly Humboldt
Sacramento State
UC Davis
Healthcare and Community Partners:
Clinical and Translational Science Center at UC
Funding Information
Total Funding Received $120,580
Type of Funding Received Workgroup Proposal
Student Information
Who were the intended beneficiaries? Students of color, low-income learners, first-generation learners, rural learners, adult learners, and comebackers.
How many students were served? 57 students
Program Information
Supports underrepresented community college students pursuing medicine with paid internships, research, travel, and MCAT prep.
How is this project reaching high-priority or underserved student populations?
In AY 24–25, CMSP AvenueM marked significant progress in three core areas: recruitment and enrollment of Cohort 3, student retention through meaningful programming, and strengthening relationships with stakeholders. We successfully recruited a diverse and driven third cohort of pre-medical students. Through a mix of over 30 targeted outreach at local community events, partnerships with community colleges, presentations at pre-health and STEM classes, the CMSP AvenueM expanded our applicant pool by and increased awareness of our program among underrepresented student populations. During our initial recruitment period from July to November 2022, we received 79 applications. This number increased to 105 in 2023, and in the most recent cycle, we achieved a record high of 142 student applications. The number of applications to our Cohort 3 cycle affirms both the program’s growing reputation and the need for inclusive pathways to medical careers. Secondly, the CMSP AvenueM team retained our students by offering programming that was engaging, educational, and career-focused. Students participated in MCAT prep, transfer support, professional development workshops, mentorship events, and counseling with our CMSP AvenueM coordinators. The program’s thoughtful mix of academic and social experiences helped students stay connected, motivated, and on track toward their goals. We also refined our internal processes, enhanced communication within and across cohorts, and deepened collaboration with internal and external partners.
How are you measuring your accomplishment?
We surpassed our goal of 20 scholars participating in and successfully completing a summer internship and seminar course.
The funding allowed us to partner with external and internal research and clinical opportunities that had experiences for students, but not funding to pay them.
Did you run into any challenges?
Our most pressing challenges this year have been securing clinical opportunities for our CMSP AvenueM students. As students work toward competitive medical school applications, they are eager to collect meaningful clinical hours to strengthen their patient experiences and affirm their commitment to healthcare careers. As our student numbers grow and our clinical partners’ funding dwindles, these opportunities have become increasingly difficult to provide. Many of our clinical partners experienced reduced budgets and cuts to their time and staffing. These shortages greatly limited their ability to host our CMSP AvenueM students. Our physician mentors also voiced an interest in providing shadowing experiences, but the onboarding process at their clinics posed barriers for our students like HIPAA training, background checks, and liability coverage. During our coordinators’ check-ins, a defining theme is that students remained highly motivated but expressed frustration at the gap between their enthusiasm and available internship opportunities.
Do you have any insights to share?
To sustain and expand our impact, CMSP AvenueM could not provide student experiences without support from the Sacramento Region K-16 Collaborative. These funds have helped partially support our program coordinators’ FTEs, without whom our programming, student support, and student experiences would suffer. Employing a strong team with invaluable skills is a cornerstone of this program’s success. Additional funding could also help provide internship stipends for students, which is particularly important as we strive to offer paid clinical and research experiences. Many of our students come from under resourced communities and are the first in their families to pursue a career in medicine, which means that a significant number of them work part-time or full-time jobs to support themselves and their families while at community college. Providing stipends ensures that students don’t have to choose between gaining critical clinical exposure and meeting basic financial needs.