MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) — A medical education program at UC Merced is creating a pathway for Central California students who want to pursue careers in healthcare.
The goal of the program is to train doctors who will stay and serve the region.
Samneet Deol is a third-year student at the university and hopes to one day work in healthcare. Her father, who is a nurse practitioner, inspired Samneet to pursue the field.
She said growing up hearing about his work helping patients in the Valley shaped her goals.
“At the end of the day, I would hear his stories and how he helped patients, especially here in the Valley,” Deol said. “My parents are immigrants. Growing up, it was hard learning English and everything.”
Deol is working toward her bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering and said the journey has been both challenging and rewarding.
“I think one of the challenges is just trying to balance everything altogether,” she said.
Central California faces a shortage of healthcare workers. According to the California Health Care Foundation, the region has 217 physicians per 100,000 people, compared with a statewide figure of 358 per 100,000.
The San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education, or SJV PRIME+, aims to address that gap.
The program is a partnership between UC Merced, UC San Francisco and UCSF Fresno. SJV PRIME+ is the first BS-to-MD program in the San Joaquin Valley. It focuses on recruiting high school students from Central California.
Dr. Margo Vener, the chair of the Department of Medical Education at UC Merced, oversees the program.
“The idea is to build out a three-campus regional collaboration so that students who are from the Valley can have all of their training in the Valley, and then stay and become doctors for the community,” Vener said.
Verner added that one early focus of the program is connecting students with local mentors.
For Deol, the program offered a chance to stay close to home while pursuing medical school.
“When I heard about the program, I was like this is perfect for me and when I got in, it was a no-brainer because I get to stay close to my family and go to med school,” she said.
Meanwhile, construction is underway for the college’s Medical Education Building. University leaders hope to open by fall 2026.
The more than 200,000-square-foot facility is expected to welcome medical students by 2027 and carries a projected cost of $300 million.
Deol is among the students slated to attend medical school in the new building.
“There are no other med schools in the area. This is the first, and I’m in the first cohort,” she said.
She said her long-term goal is to give back to the community that supported her path into medicine.
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