Grant Program: Strategic Education

A new initiative called Increasing Indigenous Representation in Medicine through Academics, Engagement and Innovation (IIMAGIN) led by the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Native American Center for Health Professions (NACHP) will expand the recruitment of indigenous students into health professions. American Indian/Alaska Native (AI) professionals are underrepresented in medicine and the health professions, and there are gaps along the medical training pathway at two key stages including application to medical school and retention/promotion to faculty. IIMAGIN aims to address the healthcare workforce needs at critical intervention points along the medical training pathway by creating dedicated pre-college and college pathway programs, establishing a pre-faculty development pathway, and developing new AI health and medical curriculum offerings.

The Wisconsin Partnership Program at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) has established the Wisconsin Partnership Program Scholarship Program – a four-year scholarship created with the goal of increasing recruitment of medical students at the SMPH from communities that are disproportionately impacted by health inequities and poor health outcomes. Funded by the Partnership Education and Research Committee (PERC), the scholarship program is designed to enhance the recruitment and retention of medical students in Wisconsin, and in doing so, help create and sustain a physician workforce that reflects and keeps pace with Wisconsin’s diverse population.

Wisconsin’s evolving healthcare needs require that physicians are well trained to care for patients as well as able to understand the health needs of the populations and communities they serve. Through the UWSMPH Preventive Medicine Residency Program – Wisconsin’s only accredited Preventive Medicine Residency Program – graduates are uniquely trained in population-based approaches to medicine and well-prepared for careers and leadership in local, state and federal health agencies as well as in health systems and community-based organizations.