B. Model Practices

1. Imagination Mentoring and Outreach Project - California Latino Medical Association - Margaret Juarez, MD

The California Latino Medical Association (CaLMA) is one of the largest Latino medical associations in the nation and the largest in California. CaLMA currently has over 3200 official members. Committed to promoting "quality, culturally sensitive health care to our underserved communities, CaLMA has developed a four-pronged strategy to address its mission:

Physician education through specially designed medical conferences offering continuing medical education (CME) to its members.
Public and membership advocacy for policies that improve services to underserved communities.
Increased numbers of Latino medical students, assuring a larger number of Latino and culturally competent physicians in California.
Community education to enhance the quality of life and effectiveness of health care provided to Latino communities.

CaLMA's Imagination © Mentoring and Outreach Project is a comprehensive strategy to increase the numbers of Latino physicians and other health professionals in California. The project has three key features:

Partnerships with the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), the National Hispanic Nurses Association (NHNA), and the Hispanic Dental Association, providing 2800 mentors to mentor the expected 7,000 protégés who participate in the program.

A multi-age and grade level approach that:

• Builds interest in medicine and sciences among Latino youth through presentations by physician panels to high school, community college, pre-med and first and second year college students. This approach has proven successful in nurturing interest in the field and helping students understand what it takes to become a doctor.
  
• Nurtures interest in medicine through the establishment of a structured mentoring relationship. The CaLMA mentoring program features face-to-face meetings, frequent e-mail contact, office visits with protégés, and reading recommendations.
  
• Provides a safety net and support system for pre-medical and medical students to increase retention in the medical field. This activity allows experienced physicians to provide on-going guidance to students.
  
• Closing the circle by recruiting protégés who have successfully entered medical school to become mentors for high school and undergraduate students. This allows mentors to become "renewable resources" and promotes the building of long-term relationships.

A full-scale evaluation of the program including both qualitative and quantitative performance measures.

For more information on CaLMA's Imagination Mentoring and Outreach Project, visit www.calma.ws or contact the CaLMA office.