Pathway Programming

CNU College of Medicine is committed to increasing diversity in the healthcare profession within the Sacramento Central Valley region, as well as the greater United States. In this effort we work with our community to create programs that help young students realize their interests in healthcare careers while supporting and aiding their persistence to make dreams become reality.

What is a Pathway at CNUCOM?

At CNUCOM, pathway refers to the overall path into healthcare professions. We define our Pathway efforts as the process of helping students progress through the steps necessary to matriculate into medical school or other healthcare education. While we can help students interested in CNUCOM carve out their path to matriculation through the proper support programming, our goal is to usher students along the path to advancement no matter what their health professions goals may be. This level of support and exposure allows us to encourage students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine see themselves as physicians, persist through their education, and become professionals dedicated to serving their communities.

Pathway sites

CNU works with schools and other institutions to provide ongoing presence and programming to students interested in pursuing careers in medicine. This programming is designed to assist students through their current level of education and prepare them for their next phase, while also providing exposure to healthcare, mentorship, and other resources needed for persistence in pursuit of their career goals.

Valley High School - CNUCOM is a supporter of the Valley High School Health TECH Academy. Students in this academy go through coursework that trains them to become community health workers with the opportunity of obtaining local internships with organizations such as Wellspace Health in Sacramento, CA. Some of the programs and activities CNUCOM engages VHS with are as follows:

• Medical Skills class shadowing
• Mentorship
• Med Skills workshops

If you are interested in working with CNUCOM to establish a pathway site, please contact the Office of Student Affairs (comosa@cnsu.edu)

Other Pathway Activities

Diversity in Medicine Summer Camp - The Diversity in Medicine Summer Camp is a free experience that features biomedical and hands-on medical skills-based activities. The camp is open to high school and college students from the Sacramento area, depending on the current year’s camp format.

Pathways to Healthcare- Pathways to Healthcare (PTH) is a multi-seminar program designed to provide students exposure to the medical profession and assistance with the application process. This program focuses on interacting with students from Sacramento State University, UC Davis, and the Los Rios Community College District. PTH is not just limited to medicine, as it is multi-tracked with seminar sessions for pharmacy and psychology, hosted by the respective CNU colleges. Medicine track sessions for PTH have included the following:

• “Non-traditional” Pathways to medicine
• Research + Volunteering + Mentorship
• MCAT and Application Writing
• Surgical Specialties Mixer
• Non-surgical Specialties Mixer

Undergraduate Application Workshop - There are many factors that can come into consideration when choosing a college to pursue undergraduate education in preparation for the competitiveness of the medical school application cycle. But how does a student know these considerations without having any experience? CNUCOM’s small group undergraduate application workshops are designed to expose high school students in the college application process to these considerations so they can make informed decisions on how to approach the next stage of their academic life. These workshops cover topics such as campus experience, location, cost, major, extracurricular opportunities around campuses, major selection, resource exploration, and more. Though the target audience for these workshops are students interested in careers in medicine or healthcare, this information is valuable to all students, and we welcome students interested in any major, or even those who are undecided in the vision for their future.

Mentorship - CNUCOM has a variety of student mentorship opportunities to help navigate the challenges of pre-medical and medical school life. We invite prospective high school and undergraduate students to engage with the following programs:

• CNU mentoring (undergrads)
• CNU Community College Mentors
• CNU Mentoring (High school)

If you or your school site would like to be connected to a CNUCOM mentoring program, please contact the Office of Student Affairs(comosa@cnsu.edu) to be properly directed.