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WELCOME

The mission of the Program in Medical Education – Transforming Indigenous Doctor Education (PRIME-TIDE) is to prepare medical students for careers focused on providing healthcare to Native populations.  This will be accomplished by didactic and experiential training on the specific healthcare needs, cultural context in which that care is provided and how medical research may inform decisions made by healthcare personnel. 

GOALS

1. Learning appropriate management and treatment of diseases common in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities with a focus on culturally sensitive care. This will be accomplished by the completion of relevant didactic coursework and mentored clinical experiences in tribally operated Indian Health Service (IHS) hospitals and ambulatory clinics.
2. Understanding the historical context for community-based research with AI/AN communities through local, regional or national investigations.
   
3. Engagement in preventive medicine and public health in a tribal healthcare setting.
4. Understanding of social, environmental, economic and political issues related to providing healthcare to tribal communities and limitations/adaptations to the delivery of IHS care.
   
   

WHO SHOULD APPLY TO PRIME-TIDE?


1. Students committed to a career focused on the provision of healthcare to AI/AN populations.
   
2. Students potentially interested in pursuing an academic medical career with a research agenda focused on AI/AN health.
3. Students ready to commit to the curriculum and fulfill (or exceed) expectations.
4. Applicants do not need to have prior experience with AI/AN populations.
   
   

ADMISSIONS PROCESS


Applications to the PRIME-TIDE will be available through the UCSD School of Medicine secondary application. Interested applicants will check a box in the secondary application to indicate their interest in the track and compose a one-page essay (detailed instructions will be provided on the secondary application). Selected applicants will be invited for interviews with PRIME-TIDE faculty and students.  Admission decisions will typically be made in February or March, but earlier decisions may be made, as appropriate. Admission offers from the UCSD School of Medicine are made independently of the PRIME-TIDE program. A total of six students from the applicant pool may be selected for admission to the track each year.