Dr. Bright, from the division of general medicine, was featured in the news this week, discussing the UNC Medical Education Development (MED) Program which gives students who may not have had the opportunity to pursue education in medical fields, an experience that helps them be competitive.
Dr. Cedric Bright is featured in UNC Program Builds Rural Care Pipeline of Minority Doctors and Dentists, which aired on WUNC this week.
“Many of our African-Americans want to go back to their own community, many of our Latinos want to go back to their own community, happenstance is that many of those communities are rural or economically disadvantaged, or as health professionals what we call shortage areas,” says Bright, associate professor in the department of medicine’s division of general medicine and clinical epidemiology.
The article recognizes the UNC Medical Education Development (MED) Program, a nine-week boot camp that helps prospective students get ready to apply for professional education, that plays an important role in balancing the physician workforce in North Carolina. Bright came through the MED program himself, one that has received approximately 3,000 students since it began in 1974.
The MED program was also featured in North Carolina Health News, Learning What Medical School Really Takes. Bright, who is associate dean for inclusive excellence and director of the office of special programs at UNC Chapel Hill, says MED is like a family. “Once you go through this crucible of fire, you come together melded like steel.”
He also mentors students and says many of them go back to serve in their communities. “Many of our graduates go to areas where there are health provider shortages and low-resourced communities.”