Schools/Programs
University
of Arizona
The
INMED Program at the University of
Arizona is a
collaboration between the university and the Inter
Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. Through partnerships
with various academic and student service departments on
campus, INMED provides academic, career, cultural and
personal support to pre-med/pre-health professions
students, as well as to graduate and professional
students pursuing advanced degrees in medicine, public
health and pharmacy. Carlos R. Gonzales, Pascua Yaqui,
MD, FAAFP, is Director of INMED.
Academic support for pre-med and pre-health students
includes tutoring and counseling. Pre-med students can
receive help in preparing for the MCAT exam and applying to
medical schools. INMED activities include talking circles
and health career activities featuring American Indian
physicians and health professions. INMED also offers site
visits to hospitals, IHS service centers and tribal
clinics.
University of Minnesota
The
Center of American Indian and Minority
Health (CAIMH) was
established in 1989 as a Native American Center of
Excellence. CAIMH has offices on both the Minneapolis
and Duluth medical school campuses. The Indian Health
Pathway, which includes programs from elementary school
through medical school, is the heart of the Center.
CAIMH works with elementary and middle schools to
provide enrichment programs. Superstars is a 6-week
program for high school students on the UMD campus.
There is also a 6-week summer program for undergraduate
students. One-on-one academic and personal advising is
available to American Indian medical students on the UMD
campus. Medical students can also shadow family
physicians in American Indian communities. Whenever
possible students at all levels are matched with "next
step mentors" - students who are a step ahead of them in
school. For example, an undergraduate will be mentored
by a medical student. Both mentors and mentees benefit
by giving and receiving.
Dr. Joy Dorscher, a family
physician who is director of CAIMH, realizes that it
isn’t possible for all students to follow a straight
path to becoming a physician. “Very few people, unless
truly blessed, are able to go from one step to another.
That’s the most ideal situation, but it doesn’t always
work that way. Stuff happens. We try to stay in touch
with our students, even if they step out of the process
for a while, so when they’re ready to come back, we can
help them.”
University of North Dakota
Established
in 1973, the INMED Program at the
University of North Dakota School of Medicine
& Health Sciences is a
comprehensive educational program assisting Indian
students who are preparing for careers in the health
professions. As of summer, 2007, 172 American Indian
students have completed the INMED program and graduated
as medical doctors. (This includes Drs.
Pat Rock and
Adrienne Laverdure
who are
profiled on this website.) More than 198 students in
nursing, clinical psychology and other health
professions have also completed the program.
Six weeks each summer, more than 100 Indian students live
on the University of North Dakota campus and participate in
one of three on-campus INMED programs. Junior and senior
high bridge students participate in the Summer Institute
with its enrichment classes. American Indian students who
plan to transfer to UND in a health-related curriculum take
part in the Pathway Program. Students who are preparing to
take or retake the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
work hard in the Med Prep Program.
During the school year, INMED provides support to the INMED
health professions students. After completing two years of
medical school at UND, two students each year can complete
their undergraduate medical education at the University of
South Dakota School of Medicine,
where INMED has
a satellite office.
Eugene DeLorme, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, JD,
Director of INMED, thinks that one of the keys to INMED’s
success has been the all-Indian board of directors made up
of representatives of the 24 reservations in North Dakota,
South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
University
of Washington
The
primary goals of the
Native American Center of
Excellence at the
University of Washington include (1) attracting Native
American and Alaska Native students into the study and
practice of medicine; (2) integrating Native healing
traditions into the Western medical education
curriculum; (3) and encouraging Native researchers as
well as research into Native health issues.
The Indian Health Pathway (IHP)
is a
certificate program in the UW School of Medicine that
helps prepare Native and non-Native students to work
with patients from Native American and Alaska Native
communities. Students take all the
required courses in medical school curriculum. In
addition, they participate in small group discussions,
problem-based learning, immersion clinical experiences,
and other activities that help prepare them for careers
in American Indian health care.
The
Medicine Wheel Society is a network
of Native and Non-Native students, alumni, faculty and
friends who provide mutual support and promote Native
culture, education, and advances in Native health care.
Among other activities, the Society conducts mini-health
fairs aimed at inspiring American Indian and Alaska
Native youth to pursue careers in the health
professions.
Check out the website (Native American Center of
Excellence).
If you have
questions contact Vicki Pinkhan, Tlingit, Program
Director, at vp@uw.edu or
206-616-3043.