Pomona Health Career Ladder

http://www.westernu.edu/ladder-pomona/index.php

This pipeline is designed to culminate in early admission to nine graduate health professions colleges at WesternU. The middle school students now being cultivated are being guided toward graduate degrees in the health professions by 2021. The program is building students in the pipeline from middle school through high school each year by adding cohorts. Enrollment in the program is free and open to any interested student, regardless of race, color, national origin, age, or sex.

The 2009-10 program consisted of six half-day Saturday academies held monthly on the WesternU campus. The Academies were modular, providing age and interest-appropriate activities, and include plenary sessions with required attendance by both students and parents, followed by topic or discipline specific lectures, break-out activities, and other hands-on experience for the students. Careers and health education in medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, veterinary medicine, podiatry, optometry and dentistry were introduced. Financial aid and college/professional schools admissions counseling were covered with parents, in presentations and question and answer sessions. Each session was organized topically, around themes such as microbiology and sports medicine. Stay tuned for what the 2010-2011 year will bring.