Curriculum

Chicano-Latino Studies classes provide students with a different perspective as a complement to the traditional medical school curriculum. Classes are taught in small group discussion sessions, which allows students to participate in robust conversations on important issues regarding Latino culture and healthcare. Professors from the School of Social Sciences with expertise in anthropology and social ecology help students think critically about the complicated issues of race, culture and identity that are always present in healthcare. The first class begins during the pre-MS1 summer session and is taught in Spanish. Subsequent classes are taught in Spanish and English.
 

Education for the PRIME-LC program starts one month before the traditional medical school curriculum. The goals of this program are to expose students to health conditions in California’s Latino communities and to engage them on their path toward becoming physician leaders and advocates for the Latino community. Tuition, fees and travel costs are covered by the program.

View Sample Pre-MS1 Summer Schedule

The capstone project for PRIME-LC is an international rotation which allows students to compare patient-physician interaction and health systems in the US and Latin America.

Immediately after their third year, PRIME-LC students travel to Latin America for the four-week international clinical rotation. While there, medical students see patients working alongside residents and attending physicians. Students also gain exposure to tropical medicine, and are exposed to a variety of clinical scenarios and advanced pathology they wouldn't generally encounter in their clinical rotations. Instruction from outside clinical faculty gives students greater understanding, not only of tropical medicine, but also of cultural factors and socio-economic determinants of health that influence populations.