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  3. MD & Combined Programs
  4. PRIME
  5. Transforming Indigenous Doctor Education

PRIME-TIDE

Program in Medical Education - Transforming Indigenous Doctor Education (PRIME-TIDE)

The mission of the PRIME-TIDE program 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.

Blanket and Blessing Ceremony Fosters Community and Connection

The University of California San Diego School of Medicine recently held its fourth annual Indigenous Medicine Ceremony, which honors and recognizes students who are training to provide health care to Native American and Indigenous populations.

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Male and Female student standing with blankets around their shoulders

Student Profiles

Learn more about our PRIME-TIDE students who are committed to meeting the needs of Native populations.

Meet our Students

Admissions

PRIME-TIDE is an inclusive program designed to build on students’ interests and backgrounds in providing healthcare to AI/AN populations. It is open to all School of Medicine applicants.

Who Should Apply?

Curriculum

PRIME-TIDE offers an enhanced curriculum that includes specific healthcare needs, cultural context in which care is provided, and how medical research may inform decisions made by healthcare personnel.

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Funding

Matriculated students receive significant financial support for each year they are in medical school. Funding available to PRIME-TIDE students can include up to $20,000 per year and/or UC tuition and fees waived for registered citizens from federally recognized tribes.

group of PRME-TIDE students, faculty and staff at White Coat Ceremony

Goals

  1. Learn 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. Understand the historical context for community-based research with AI/AN communities through local, regional or national investigations.
  3. Engage in preventive medicine and public health in a tribal healthcare setting.
  4. Understand social, environmental, economic and political issues related to providing healthcare to tribal communities and limitations/adaptations to the delivery of IHS care.
All programs and initiatives coordinated by the School of Medicine and its units are designed and implemented in full compliance with Proposition 209 and the University of California Anti-Discrimination Policy. More information about Proposition 209 can be found here. More information about the University of California Anti-Discrimination Policy can be found here