The emphasis of this program is on preliminary education, facilitating entry, and retention. Career information is distributed on these campuses and educational seminars are conducted which focus on such topics as pre-professional preparation, the application process, and financial aid. Other recruitment activities include MED sponsored visits to the medical and dental schools by other summer program participants and area college students and mailing recruitment materials. While in this program, students attend one week of orientation which includes academic skills workshops and other activities. In addition, Phase II includes an advanced curriculum for pre-matriculants who have completed most of the prerequisites for admissions.
Selected students attend clinicopathologic conferences, resident conferences and autopsy reviews.
Other activities focus on learning and reading skills, use of the Health Science Library and data bases, scientific writing skills, use of instructional medical and design principles in a professional paper or presentation and effective oral delivery. The goal of the project is to increase the number of academically competitive Native American, African American and disadvantaged white students entering allopathic medicine, pharmacy, optometry, dentistry, veterinary medicine, podiatry, and public health. Extensive recruitment efforts are directed at high school seniors and undergraduate college students from Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke, Richmond, Robeson and Scotland counties. Community College students are recruited primarily from Bladen, Robeson, Fayetteville, Southeastern and Richmond counties. A six-week Summer Science Enrichment Program will be offered to high school graduates in order to prepare them for college level science and mathematics courses.