Building a Pathway to a More Diverse Healthcare Workforce  

This two-year program is designed to introduce Newark high school students to the health professions using a case-based approach. Tenth graders will be recruited to participate in a series of sessions demonstrating the role of nine healthcare professions in caring for a patient with impairments from a stroke.

They will perform supervised evaluation and treatment procedures on patient actors thus simulating a clinical situation. During the intervening summer and following academic year, these same students will be trained to become Student Health Ambassadors.

The now 11th graders will participate in a more in-depth exploration of disease processes affecting their community and learn how to search the literature for new approaches to disease. Guided by student mentors from underrepresented groups attending the Rutgers School of Health Professions, they will gain experience conducting medical histories preparing them to disseminate knowledge to their peers at school-wide health fairs. The overall goal of the program is to encourage underrepresented minority students to pursue healthcare careers while simultaneously creating a significant impact on the health of their community as a student health ambassador.