Twenty-eight minority undergraduates took part in the UA's first MMEP in 1994. Of the seven who applied to medical schools, four were accepted, including three by the UA College of Medicine. The six-week program is part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Minority Medical Education Program. Created in 1989, with the goal of increasing the number of minority physicians in the United States, MMEP assists minority college students who are in terested in medical careers and gives them additional educational and practical experiences to improve their competitiveness in the medical school application process. The UA program is part of the Western Consortium MMEP, led by the University of Washing ton School of Medicine.
MMEP participants live on campus during the program.
In addition, students are paired with a physician or Ph.D. mentor, and they attend classes in biological sciences and lectures on ethics, health care reform and other current issues. The program counsels students on selecting medical schools and the application process and includes mock interviews and recruitment visits from medical school representatives. This year they performed surgery under the guidance of anesthesiologist Raul Marquez, M.D., who is fluent in Spanish. In another outreach program during summer 1995, nearly 70 high school students from across the state learned firsthand what it takes to be a health care professional. In addition to acquiring basic medical knowledge and learning about physician specialties, the students are introduced to college life, which is vital to students entering health professions.