PRIME-HEq Curriculum

PRIME-HEq offers an enhanced medical school curriculum that includes coursework emphasizing leadership, justice-centered advocacy, and service, where reducing equity gaps in medicine is the primary aim of the curriculum. Each program has a dedicated area of focus, targeted student recruitment, supplemental criteria for admission, relevant curricular content, and dedicated faculty mentorship. See core medical school curriculum.

A. Years 1 & 2: Required Courses, Elective Courses, and Summer Experience

The student will complete a minimum of 5 courses: 3 required, plus 2 electives.

1. Year 1 - Required Courses

Students will complete a minimum of 3 courses that provide a foundation in health equity and community engagement. The required courses are:

SOMI 233: Influences on Health: From Genes to Communities
Introduces the concept of health equity and explores how genetic, environmental and social factors influence health. Includes cultural immersion site visits such as the Indian Health Center, Student-run Free Clinic, and San Ysidro Health Center.
SOMI 234: Beyond the Bench and Bedside: Partnering with Communities
Focuses on community collaboration, research and program evaluation. Students complete a Community Snapshot assignment to understand a specific San Diego community.
SOMI 235: Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies
Trains medical students to deliver health education to underserved high school students. Includes lesson planning, classroom teaching and mentorship.

2. Summer Experience: Between Years 1 and 2

Each student will initiate a scholarly project during the summer between MS1 and MS2 years. Projects may involve:

Biomedical, clinical or social science research
Health education, promotion or disease prevention
Community-based initiatives addressing health equity

Students will work with a mentor to define goals and develop a strategy. Projects must be approved by the PRIME-Health Equity director and may be conducted at UC San Diego or affiliated institutions such as SDSU or CSUSM.

3. Year 2 - Elective Courses

Students will also complete a minimum of 2 additional electives, chosen from the general elective list offered by the School of Medicine.

B. Year 3: Clinical Clerkships

PRIME-Health Equity students will complete standard third-year clinical rotations.

C. Leave of Absence between Year 3 and Year 4

Master’s Degree, or scholarly equivalent as pre-approved by the PRIME program director

D. Year 4: Health Equity Clinical Experience

All PRIME-Health Equity students are encouraged to complete a minimum 4-week clinical rotation focused on health equity. This may include:

Rotations at student-run clinics, tribal health centers or border health sites
Experiences must be supervised by UC San Diego faculty and eligible for academic credit
May be completed outside of San Diego