We hope our website gives you a sense of what makes our students-- and our programs -- so special. We strive to achieve our mission statement every day: To nurture and train future physician leaders to transform the health of California's rural, urban, Native American, and Central Valley communities.

Our diverse students are fiercely committed to improving the health of their communities, and we aim to nurture your growth and equip you with the skills and resources to thrive in independent practice as a physician leader and changemaker. In our programs, you will find:

• A diverse community of peers, with over 70% of students identifying as underrepresented in medicine (as defined by the University of California Office of the President) and over 50% as first generation college graduates.
• An incredible group of dedicated CHS faculty, academic coaches, staff, preceptors, and mentors who are committed to your success in medical school.
• A curriculum designed with a foundation of cultural humility, care for underserved communities, and health equity upon which we build pillars of community engagement, leadership, professional development, mentorship, and scholarship.  
• A safe environment to have hard and inspiring conversations about health inequities and potential solutions.
• Clinical training opportunities in communities that you want to serve, so you can learn from preceptors who are doing the hard work of caring for vulnerable populations every day.

We offer four different four-year CHS programs, each focused on different communities in California:

• Rural and Frontier regions: Rural Program in Medical Education (Rural-PRIME)
• Central Valley: Reimagining Education to Advance central California Health (REACH)
• Urban Underserved: Transforming Education and Community Health for Medical Students (TEACH-MS)  
• Native American and Indigenous communities: Tribal Health PRIME

CHS programs share foundational curriculum and each program has unique time spent together exploring community organizations and relevant health issues specific to their community of interest.

Additionally, UC Davis School of Medicine offers a three-year accelerated program for students dedicated to primary care careers which has a different curricular structure and schedule:

• Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care (ACE-PC)

We hope you will consider applying to our programs and sharing your wealth of knowledge and lived experiences with our community.

In Community,

Melody Tran-Reina, MD

Executive Director of Community Health Scholars Programs

TEACH-MS, Class of 2015