UIM Center of Excellence
Our mission
The UCLA Underrepresented in Medicine – Center of Excellence (UIM-COE) works to increase the number of health professionals from backgrounds underrepresented in the sciences. We also work to increase the number of faculty in academic medicine researching health disparities. We do this with the help and funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) and their Centers of Excellence grant program.
Our goals
Growing the pool of health professionals to create a diverse healthcare workforce
To increase the number of health professionals in high-need rural areas serving historically marginalized communities, we aim to:
- Provide support to community college and California State University students into our summer pathway programs and other rural-serving institutions to participate in pathway programs
- Develop and implement longitudinal mentorship programs for students and faculty
- Enhance a program for training, retention, career development, and advancement of faculty from backgrounds underrepresented in the sciences.
In doing so, we increase the pool necessary to create a socio-economically, racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse healthcare workforce.
Increasing the number of faculty researching health disparities
We are developing new knowledge, improving clinical education, and increasing cultural humility for health issues in traditionally marginalized communities. To accomplish this in our pathway programs and the school of medicine, we are:
- Providing funding support for medical student and faculty research on health disparities
- Developing and adapting performance psychology and psychosocial needs assessment tools for students to reduce burnout, provide safety nets, and address wellness
- Increasing the faculty’s understanding of cultural humility and the structural determinants of health
In doing so, we increase the number of healthcare workers practicing cultural humility. We also reduce the impact of aversive racism and ingroup favoritism affecting the careers of students and faculty.
