Health Coach Program
Future Physician Leaders & Health Coach Program Information Sessions
Join us for the UCR School of Medicine Pathway Programs Informational Session to learn more about:
- The Future Physician Leaders (FPL) program is a nine-week summer internship where you learn about developing a community health education project and present your research, network with various health professionals through the leadership lecture series, and a limited number of students may participate in a mentorship program.
- The Health Coach Program (HCP) provides students an opportunity to volunteer at a Riverside University Health System (RUHS) clinic and guide patients through goals aimed at achieving healthier lifestyles in partnership with a health care team during the academic school year (2022-2023).
Register for either of the two sessions:
March 10 – 5 to 6 p.m.
Registration: https://ucr.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIodeuspjovE91apHPiVR-7bfbpMHlJSRcf
March 29 – 5 to 6 p.m.
Registration: https://ucr.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIlduitrjMuHdyZzzwV5NUc7IjQ-XPAtIxU
Questions? Email pathway@medsch.ucr.edu
The Health Coach Program at the UC Riverside School of Medicine is a community-based collaborative aimed at reducing the number of patients with uncontrolled chronic conditions by training health coaches to support patient care by working with integral healthcare teams in a clinical setting.
Our health coaches are pre-medical and pre-health students currently enrolled as juniors and seniors at an undergraduate institution or recent college graduates.
Through weekly follow-ups and continuous communication with their patients’ health care team, health coaches: help patients build progressive goals, become true advocates for their patients, and establish a rapport that allows them to identify patient’s existing barriers to healthier lifestyle habits.
The Health Coach Program, which began in 2013, is a partnership between the UCR School of Medicine and Riverside University Health System.
Information Session Recording Available
If you missed our information session on Wednesday, February 9, 2022, a recording is available.
It is intended for prospective applicants that would like to get a better idea about the application process, program components and program benefits for the 2022-2023 Health Coach Program.
Applying for Health Coach Program
The Health Coach Program application is open. The application cycle will close on Thursday, April 28, 2022 @ 11:59 p.m. PST.
For more information, please contact the Program Coordinator at healthcoaches@medsch.ucr.edu
Short Answer Essay Questions
The application process requires you to answer short answer essay questions that assess your: professionalism, communication and teamwork skills. It is recommended that you write your responses and save all essays on a separate word document before transferring responses into the application. Please note: questions 1-3 have a 1200 character limit, while question 4 has a 1500 character limit.
These short answer essay questions are as follows:
Short Essay Response #1: Why do you want to become a Health Coach and how will participating in this program fit with your overall career goals?
Short Essay Response #2: What qualities/experiences do you have that you feel will allow you to improve the overall patient care experience as a health coach?
Short Essay Response #3: As a health coach you will be considered part of a healthcare team and will work alongside physicians, nurses, dietitians and other healthcare staff. Describe the experiences you have working in a collaborative environment where you maintained a professional relationship and good rapport with your colleagues?
Short Essay Response #4: Describe an experience when you used your active listening and your interpersonal communication skills to assist someone from a medically underserved community or someone that needed assistance navigating a healthcare system. Please be specific about your role and what you learned. (Please feel free to include any experience assisting someone in a healthcare setting. This can include a patient, group of patients or a family member.)