Student Health Professions Education Program
In 2016, University of Florida Health received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop a pilot project for the 2017 Summer Health Professions Education Program, or SHPEP. This program enabled 80 underrepresented and/or disadvantaged students interested in health care to receive extensive exposure to an array of health careers, an academic enrichment component and hands-on learning experiences. Students selected from four career pathways of interest: Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy and Dentistry. In addition to these pathways, students participated in sessions to learn about other health careers including Veterinary Medicine, Nursing, Physician Assistant, Clinical Health Psychology, Health Administration, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. Formerly the Summer Learning Program, the UF College of Dentistry provided 20 scholars with a unique dental career pathway experience complete with simulation lab training, dental student mentors and interactions with dedicated faculty and staff.