RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Standing inside the simulation center at the UC Riverside School of Medicine, Morgan Vickrey says she’s always wanted to go into the medical field.

“My sister’s a nurse. My mom’s been a phlebotomist for about 40 years now,” she said.

But Vickrey wants to be a doctor. She grew up in Riverside and is the first in her family to go to college. She is also among the first students selected for the California Medicine Scholars Program, which targets underrepresented community college students to work in California’s rural and underserved communities.

“My friend lives in a small town in Humboldt County, and they had one doctor, so her [sic] and her family were traveling two hours plus for medical care,” said Rowena Robles, executive director of the California Medicine Scholars Program.

Robles says California projects a shortage of over 4,000 physicians by 2030.

“The Central Valley keeps growing and growing in terms of population, and they don’t have anywhere near the number of primary care providers that would serve that population,” she said.

“We do know from a lot of the workforce development data that the people most likely to practice medicine in a particular community probably went to high school in that community,” said Teresa Cofield, director of Pathway Programs at the UCR School of Medicine.

The program partners with four medical schools: UC Davis, UC Riverside, UCSF-Fresno, and UC San Diego. Those schools get money from the state to recruit at community colleges in their area.

“People may have expressed to them that because they’re at community college, that they don’t have what it takes to pursue medicine as a career and that just isn’t the case. There’s lots of talent. There’s lots of passion,” said Ana Guillen Lopez, coordinator for the California Medicine Scholars Program.

Vickery, along with other students in the program, benefit from priority enrollment, regular meetings with advisers, professional development, mentoring, and a stipend.

“The magic number seems to be at about $5,000 to ensure that they could participate in all the workshops and other internship and volunteer experiences,” Robles said.

“Sitting in a room filled with people that want to do the same thing as you, that have to take the same classes as you, that have the same struggles as you, it’s so comforting surprisingly because you’re like, ‘This is my family now,’” Vickrey said.

(Spectrum News/Ariel Wesler)

She feels grateful for all the support from that newfound family and her own.

“My parents are here. My siblings are here. My boyfriend’s family’s here. I’m very connected to the Inland Empire. I don’t really see myself moving out of state,” she said.

And for all of her fellow community college students who have been told they don’t have what it takes.

“We will work with them through their educational journey until they’re a health care provider and that we can call them doctor,” Cofield said.

No matter where that journey begins.

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