Health Career Opportunity Program

This proposal will establish the University of Kentucky Health Careers Opportunity Program (UKHCOP) with the purpose of increasing the number of disadvantaged and underrepresented students who successfully pursue educational programs and careers in the health professions. In partnership with the University of Kentucky Area Health Education Center Program (AHEC) and its affiliated Health Education Training Center Program (HETC), this will be a comprehensive initiative that includes four colleges at the University of Kentucky (Health Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine and Pharmacy), four regional Centers that form part of the UK AHEC Program, community partnerships and commitment from local school districts. Activities focusing on cultural competence will be integrated at all levels as program objectives are developed. The Program will develop activities to build diversity in the health professions, address identified risk factors for school failure, explore ways to narrow achievement gaps and assure students in the program remain in the educational pipeline. The program and its activities will be developed around the seven core objectives of the federal HCOP initiative. The UKHCOP program will develop support services and activities that provide coordinated and longitudinal experiences to enable students to advance throughout their academic pathway. Activities will occur in 12 of Kentucky's most rural and underserved counties in eastern Kentucky and two urban counties with large Hispanic and African American populations. Activities will be developed through a strong regional AHEC network that includes an urban AHEC that works to address the needs of underserved and disadvantaged populations, specifically African American and Hispanic. The requested funds will enable the University of Kentucky to expand existing programs of preprofessional preparation, broaden services for students with economic and academic disadvantages and implement innovative programs to stimulate and encourage students to enter the health professions. Through strong partnerships with schools and communities that serve large numbers of disadvantaged and underrepresented students, these funds will enable the Program to identify students who have less access to opportunities to advance through the educational pipeline leading to health careers. . 3