Mentoring is vital to achieving the primary goal of PRIME-US: to nurture and sustain the commitment of medical students to care for the urban underserved upon graduation.

To accomplish our goal, the program provides:

Faculty Mentorship

• Faculty mentors serve as a resource for questions related to career path, work/life balance, and personal and professional growth.
• Faculty mentors are actively involved in teaching, clinical care, and/or research related to the care of the urban underserved.
• Faculty mentors are based at several of the clinical and teaching sites within UCSF and practice in a variety of specialties.
• Faculty mentors and program students meet on a quarterly basis throughout the year for support and guidance.

Peer Mentorship

• Peer mentors ('big sibs') help students navigate medical school and PRIME, especially during the first few months.
• Peer mentor assignments are based on shared community clinic experience.
• The program also provides opportunities for students to meet others students who share a passion for working with the underserved.
• To encourage informal peer mentorship, program seminars start with a “check in” so that students can share stories and support each other.

Program and Academic Advising

• The PRIME-US staff serves as a resource and can help direct students to direct academic advising or support available at UCSF and UCB.
• All UCSF students are enrolled in one of the Advisory Colleges and are assigned a mentor who will provide academic, personal and career guidance to students in their college.