Tribal Health PRIME
About Tribal Health PRIME
Launched in 2022, Tribal Health PRIME (THP) is part of the University of California's "PRograms In Medical Education" or PRIME, which is designed to produce physician leaders who are trained in and committed to helping California's underserved communities. The UC Davis Tribal Health PRIME program aims to provide students with the appropriate knowledge and skills to practice medicine in California’s urban, rural, and tribal communities. With American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) populations facing significant health disparities, there is great urgency to identify pre-med students with significant ties to AI/AN communities and train culturally proficient physicians committed to practicing medicine in these areas of need.
To provide California’s tribal communities equitable health care, it is critical to recruit more AI/AN pre-medical scholars as well as those who wish to serve AI/AN communities. UC Davis is committed to building pathways to support this need and partnered with the Wy’East post-baccalaureate program 2022-2024 to admit students to THP. Wy’east subsequently partnered with UC Davis to build the Huwigurrhuk Tribal Health Postbaccalaureate Program , which is designed for learners who are passionate about providing healthcare to American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Located at Cal Poly Humboldt, this joint partnership with UC Davis School of Medicine is designed to support participants on their journey to medicine. The program will provide a culturally focused framework intertwined with courses in Biology, Chemistry, Math, and/or Physics at Cal Poly Humboldt. Our mission is to successfully recruit, retain, and train prospective medical students focused on serving American Indian/Alaska Native tribes and communities in both rural and urban areas.
The goals of Tribal Health PRIME are to:
- Recruit new physicians to serve California’s tribal, urban, and rural communities.
- Reduce health inequities within California’s urban, rural, and tribal communities by increasing physicians in the healthcare workforce with additional training on cultural, historical, and social determinants of health.
- Understand how self-determination and health advocacy shape health services for tribal and urban communities.
- Work in partnership with AI/AN communities, clinics and physicians to enhance health care in the region
Key aspects of the Tribal Health PRIME curriculum include:
- Additional education on topics relevant to California’s tribal and urban communities including: the impact of colonization on AI/AN health, tribal and urban health care services, diversity of tribes and cultures, barriers to healthcare, and the unique political relationship that tribes have with federal and state governments
- Participate in public health and cultural activities that seek to strengthen resilience and improve health within AI/AN communities during years 1 and 2.
- Preferential assignment to clerkship sites serving tribal and/or American Indian communities in Northern California
- Access to the COMPADRE network of residency programs serving rural and underserved communities in the Northern CA and Southern OR region. This offers additional elective opportunities throughout all 4 years of medical school.
Find out how to apply here!
All CHS students are required to participate in a week of in-person CHS orientation which is scheduled for 3 weeks prior to the start of UC Davis orientation, typically late June or early July. Following CHS orientation, students may enroll in the Pre-Matriculation program for early introduction to learning skills that will facilitate success in medical school. Details for applying for the Pre-Matriculation program are included at the time of admission to UC Davis Medical School.
You are expected to maintain your primary residence in the Sacramento area. For clerkships located in communities > 60 miles away, we will provide housing. Additionally, all UC Davis students receive a mileage stipend for travel to sites > 25 miles away.
No. California’s tribal communities are underserved in all fields, ranging from primary care to specialty care. We want to train physicians who are committed to practicing in California’s urban and rural tribal communities after they complete their medical training, regardless of specialty.
No. We do not require students to complete a master’s degree during medical school. However, students who wish to pursue one are eligible for additional financial support.
Yes, Tribal Health PRIME students are eligible for additional scholarship funding each year.