UF summer program encourages minority high school students to consider health careers

For 23 local high school students, the summer before senior year was a step into the future as they attended the University of Florida’s Health Care Summer Institute, an intensive program encouraging minority youth to pursue health-care careers.

The institute, now in its eighth year, allows students to explore all six colleges at UF’s Health Science Center by “shadowing” working professionals and attending lectures and classes, said Donna Parker, M.D., assistant dean with UF’s College of Medicine Office of Minority Affairs and director of the institute.

“It’s rigorous, but that’s what college is like,” Parker said. The institute includes an SAT preparation course, tour of the UF campus and tips on how to excel academically in college.

Students apply to the program through the nearest regional Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Parker said. Admission is open to North Florida high school students from four ethnic groups currently underrepresented among health-care professionals. More than 75 percent of participants go on to attend college.

“We try to recruit students from rural areas,” Parker said. “Rural communities typically need more health-care personnel, and we hope some of our students will earn their degrees and return home to establish a practice.”

The institute is sponsored by the UF College of Medicine Office of Minority Affairs, the four North Florida AHECs, Shands at UF Food and Nutrition Services and Shands at UF Hospital Operations.