 | ||
$1.88 million grant will help new CU eight-year medical-training track fill Colorado physician gaps
Creating Futures, the $1.5 billion campaign to enhance education, research, outreach and health on the University of Colorado's four campuses, is about students such as incoming sophomore Zane Sternberg. Sternberg hails from a small ranch outside rural La Veta, Colo., where only 15 percent of county residents achieve a bachelor's degree. But thanks to the BA-BS/MD program–an eight-year program that begins with CU Denver undergraduate studies and continues with physician training at the School of Medicine–Sternberg is on a fast track to an advanced medical career serving Colorado communities in need. "Many people have asked me whether or not I was ready to 'narrow down' my career choices so early in life," he says. "But when I think of going into medicine, I feel as though more doors are being opened than closed: it is such a diverse field. I could teach, volunteer, work in a large hospital; or even practice in a small town–like my parents." This spring, a $1.88 million Colorado Health Foundation grant gave the BA/BS-MD program a critical boost. Payable during three years, the grant will inspire and enable exceptional Colorado high school students from rural and economically under-resourced backgrounds to pursue the rigorous BA/BS-MD program. CU Denver's program not only addresses student needs, but also the needs of Colorado by increasing the number of physicians who will serve their own, underserved communities. Thirteen of Colorado's 64 counties have one or fewer practicing primary care physicians, forcing citizens to travel many miles for quality care. Even in Colorado's more heavily populated communities, there are medically underserved pockets due to economic and cultural constraints. Launched in 2010, the BA/BS-MD program addresses this need by annually recruiting 10 graduating high school students from throughout Colorado, students whose interviews and achievements suggest exceptional enthusiasm and potential for physician careers. The first BA/BS-MD cohort will enter the CU School of Medicine in 2014. Further donor support is needed to help this innovative BA/BS-MD program reach its full potential–especially for scholarships to enable Colorado's best and brightest to pursue this program regardless of their personal need. For more on the campaign or to support the BA/BS-MD program, visit www.cufund.org. Make a difference. Give today!
|
||
 | ||
| Office of the President, University of Colorado 1800 Grant Street, Suite 800, Denver, CO 80203 General Phone: (303) 860-5600 | Fax: (303) 860-5610 |
officeofthepresident@cu.edu www.cu.edu |
|
