Community and Minority Outreach

Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) exposes students to science-related activities while introducing them to careers in the health professions at PCOM. This program stimulates academic and scientific interest in high school students from the Philadelphia and surrounding area.

Students receive:

• Exposure to the healthcare field
• Mentorship
• Inspiration and leadership promotion
• Confidence building and motivation for positive change
• Confidence to combat minority science stigma
• Facilitated workshops that provide both hard and soft skills
• Team building and academic support

Students are exposed to various medical clinics and workshops. They also gain knowledge on academic preparation and learn pertinent information about higher education. Participants in this program get hands-on experience while enhancing their leadership and communication skills.

The goals for the program are to:

• Promote higher education
• Create leaders
• Motivate change agents
• Inspire future health professionals
• Improve communication (verbal and written) skills
• Build confidence

The PCOM Scholarly Training and Research (STAR) Program is a pipeline program that has been in existence at PCOM since 2014. Since its inception, we have had nine participants ranging from high school to college students who have worked in a laboratory. In an effort to promote the vast research at PCOM and STEM education, this program was created to expose high school and undergraduate students to bench or clinical research. Inspiring and encouraging young people to consider educational pursuits in scientific research, this program provides students with hands-on opportunities to work side by side with faculty who conduct experiments and gather data. Some have learned to pipet and some have even worked under a sterile hood.

PCOM's Middle School Science Enrichment Program (PMSEP) is offered to middle school students from Philadelphia and the surrounding area. This program is designed to influence young people in the Philadelphia region to choose a career in the health professions through early exposure.

Scholars are intellectually engaged in clinical experiences through project based learning. This program allows students to expand their learning of science by exposing them to various subjects in a medical school curriculum. Participants receive hands-on experiences, whilst enhancing their leadership and communication skills. Each participant is mentored by a medical student and is supervised by a PCOM faculty/staff member.

In an effort to support members of the Philadelphia community, PCOM developed a partnership with Moms of Black Sons (MOBS) Move Philly—a non-profit organization created to empower and educate inner city young black adolescents. Two events occur with each of the young participants.

The first, which occurs in the fall, is a Back to School Health and Wellness Day that provides young men with lectures and workshops focused on removing some of the barriers that prevent academic success and wellness. Topics include but are not limited to bullying, peer pressure and stress management. Students are given school supplies and receive physical exams prior to the start of the new school year.

For the second event, in the winter, students are invited back to PCOM for the MVP (MOBS Move Philly Vocational Passport) component of the program that allows students to be exposed to the health professions at PCOM and also acquire professional development through workshops focused on but not limited to academic requirements for college, resume writing and interviewing skills.

Every year, PCOM opens their doors to students who have an interest in the health professions as part of the PCOM MVP (Medical Vocational Program). This program allows students from high schools and colleges to visit PCOM as a school field trip and immerse them in the PCOM educational atmosphere where they learn about osteopathic medicine. Students are provided a tour of the campus and can also experience hands on learning in the anatomy lab and Saltzburg Clinical Learning and Assessment Center.