Focus AreasThe Medicine as a Profession initiative created the Soros Service Program for Community Health (SSPCH) in 1999 to teach medical students about professionalism in a community context. From 2000 to 2003, SSPCH partnered with community-based organizations in Baltimore and New York City to offer three types of educational experiences to medical students: a pre-clinical fellowship, a summer internship, and a clinical clerkship.
Over the four years that the program operated through the foundation, approximately 150 students from across the United States participated in one of these three programs. Of the 150, approximately 130 received grants from OSI for their participation, and the remaining students participated voluntarily or received school credit.
In 2003, the SSPCH initiative undertook a devolution process. The initiative’s community partners in Baltimore and New York decided to adopt the initiative and to adapt it to local needs. They created two nonprofit organizations, Baltimore REACH and Doctors for Healthy Communities (DHC), which will continue to offer educational opportunities to students.
The 2005 program brochures for Baltimore REACH and DHC are available in the Guidelines section. For more information on Baltimore REACH programs, please contact Barbra Levin at barbralevin@erols.com; for DHC programs, contact Avigail Ziv at aviziv_dhc@yahoo.com. Baltimore REACH and DHC plan to launch their own websites in 2005, and applicants should refer to these organizations directly for funding opportunities.
