California Medicine is a coalition developing a statewide, coordinated pathway to produce a diverse physician workforce designed to increase health equity and decrease health disparities. It strives to break through systemic barriers and increase the preparation and competitiveness of Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine (UMiM) who begin their postsecondary education at a California Community College and later pursue careers in medicine. 

California Medicine builds critical relationships among educational leaders, medical providers, elected officials, and other key stakeholders, developing a much needed management and advocacy infrastructure to support and sustain systemic improvements. Through development and implementation of the California Medicine Scholars Program (CMSP), California Medicine is working to increase the matriculation, retention, and graduation rates of UMiM students, from community college through medical school. By aiding underrepresented students throughout their career journeys, California Medicine is creating a more equitable and inclusive healthcare field, accelerating better medical care for all.  

Native Americans, African Americans, and Latinos comprise less than 14 percent of practicing physicians in the state despite California’s majority “minority” demographics. A culturally competent, experiential, and linguistically skilled healthcare workforce is vital. Creating the nation’s first sustainable medical program pathway, California Medicine confronts this issue head on by increasing diversity in the primary care physician pool. California Medicine’s support of competent and well-trained physicians as front-line defenders to our democracy and reputable allies in ensuring equity and justice for all serves as a model for the nation.

California’s UMiM students overwhelmingly enter the post-secondary education system through California Community Colleges, and the Foundation is the official nonprofit supporting the Board of Governors, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, and the California Community College system - the largest system of higher education in the nation. California Medicine’s mission parallels the Chancellor’s Office bold Vision for Success, dedicated to reducing equity and achievement gaps, increasing student transfer rates, and helping students reach their defined end goals.