Among the more vexing problems facing the medical profession as it works to serve diverse communities is the sometimes wide cultural divide between doctors and their patients. Language barriers, cultural traditions and just plain suspicion can make it difficult for doctors and other health professionals to effectively treat people from underrepresented communities.
Some help is on the way. Among the newly minted doctors who graduated from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine this spring, were eleven with special training in Latino health issues. They were trained through the school's the PRIME-LC program. And by the end of this month, a new class of UCI med students will enter PRIME-LC, training in Latin America and Santa Ana.
We caught up with Dr. Charles Vega, the director of PRIME-LC, and talked with him about the program and how doctors emerge from it better able to serve those who have historically been underserved.
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