UR PreDoc Program

Aims

The PreDoc program is a 2-year longitudinal experience with the goal of promoting exposure to, and interest in clinical medicine for undergraduate students who identify from backgrounds that are historically underrepresented in medicine. The program will involve longitudinal mentorship with local physician leaders at URMC and provide scholarly and career development opportunities.

Program Description

Robert Thompson Stone, MD
Program Director
Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Ruth Agwaze
Medical Student Director

Isiah McMurray
Program Chief

Each student accepted into the program will be assigned a physician senior mentor, medical student junior mentor and the longitudinal program will consist of the following components:

• Large group meetings - These meetings consist of a topic/discussion or panel followed by a problem-based learning (PBL) medical case. During the PBL cases, student split up into small groups and learn from each other and their preceptor about various patient presentations including internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, surgery, neurology, psychiatry, and emergency medicine. Topic discussions include:

  • Introduction to the program
  • Making the most of a mentor relationship
  • Panel discussion: Medical students who identify as historically minoritized
  • Panel discussion: Medical sub-specialty physicians
  • Writing workshop: Developing most meaningful experience narratives
  • Discussion with a former Dean of Admissions for UR School of Medicine
  • Health Disparities
  • The Power of (counter)-narratives: A focus on identity

• Senior mentor meetings - at least 2 per year, with the expectation of:

  • Letters of recommendation for summer internships
  • Setting up shadowing experiences
  • Help with program final project

• Contact and discussions with junior mentor (medical student)

• 2-3 clinical shadowing experiences per year

• Opportunity to attend medical student lectures taught by mentor

• Individual project – this will serve as the student’s final “product” of the program (e.g. patient education materials, presentation, community education project).

• Networking opportunities

Time Commitment

The PreDoc program is a 2-year longitudinal experience with the goal of promoting exposure to, and interest in academic medicine for undergraduate students who identify from backgrounds that have been historically minoritized. The program will involve longitudinal mentorship with local physician leaders at URMC and provide scholarly and career development opportunities.

Application

You would qualify for this program if you identify as being from a background that is historically underrepresented in medicine: AAMC definition "Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population." In this area, those populations include African-American, Black, Mexican-American, Latinx, American Indian, Alaska Native, Pacific Islander). If you are interested in participating in this program, you are required to submit the following documentation to Dr. Robert Thompson Stone through the following Google Forms link: Here

1. Personal Information
2. Resume
3. Personal Statement explaining your interests in medicine at this point and how the PreDoc program fits into your career goals (max 500 words)
4. Statement on ability to include the program into your current commitments
5. Unofficial Transcript
6. One letter of recommendation, on letterhead; ideally from undergraduate professor

Students in this program have historically been paired with phenomenal physicians and have achieved other awards, internships, and scholarships as a result. For example, one student was paired with a physician-scientist who specializes in pediatric neurology. The two of them received a research scholarship sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and were invited as presenters to the AAN 2020 conference in Toronto, Canada.

We apologize, but our application system went down on Thursday, May 18th and we unfortunately lost any applications submitted prior to that time. The application system is now up and running. Please re-submit the application if it was submitted before that date. We are extending the deadline for applications this year to June 14, 2023. You will be notified as to your acceptance status by August 1, 2023. Undergraduates from any Rochester area colleges are welcomed to apply, but students will need to be able to attend in-person meetings on the campus of University of Rochester. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the program leadership directly.