Urban health care to be focus of new undergrad program

Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) has developed a new summer program designed to introduce undergraduate college students to urban health care.

Applications are being accepted through April 15 for the program, titled PULSE (Premedical Urban Leaders Summer Enrichment Program). PULSE is open to individuals who are typically underrepresented in medicine and/or come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. Applicants must also have completed one year of college and one semester of biology, math and expository writing/college composition and have a GPA of 3.0 or above. Visit the PULSE website at www.rowan.edu/coopermedicalschool/pulse

“There is a great need in health care to recruit and train individuals who have the same background and experiences as patients who live in urban settings,” says Dr. Jocelyn Mitchell-Williams, associate dean for multicultural and community affairs for CMSRU. “Our goal, through PULSE, is to expose underrepresented students to career options in health care.”

According to Mitchell-Williams, PULSE will give students the opportunity to learn about illnesses prevalent in urban communities, participate in medical workshops, interact with Camden healthcare providers and engage in service activities to help improve the health and well being of the Camden community.
 
PULSE will run May 16-June 10 and will meet at Rowan University’s Camden campus Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A service learning/research component of the program will be held from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. each day.

According to Mitchell-Williams, during PULSE, students will learn introductory microbiology from physicians, including an expert in infectious disease and epidemiology. They’ll learn more about health, economic and educational disparities that exist in urban communities from Camden health care providers and community leaders. PULSE also will help students develop the skills needed to succeed in the fields of science and medicine.
 
Service learning and research each afternoon will give students the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills and to form close relationships with medical school faculty and staff. Students will present their work at the PULSE summer symposium at the completion of the program.
 
For information about the program, call 856-361-2800. PULSE is presented by the Office of Multicultural, Community and Special Academic Programs of CMSRU and Rowan at Camden.
 
In 2009, Rowan and Cooper University Hospital entered into an agreement to form CMSRU, the first four-year allopathic medical school ever in South Jersey. The primary accrediting organization for medical education, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, is reviewing CMSRU’s application for preliminary accreditation.