UC Irvine Health System
07/24/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/24/2024 15:40
Summer Healthcare Experience is a window into the field
Summer Healthcare Experience is a window into the field
Program for young aspiring healthcare professionals is in its 10th year
July 24, 2024
IN THE NEWS: For 10 years, the Summer Healthcare Experience at UCI Medical Center and UC Irvine School of Medicine has shown hundreds of rising high school juniors and seniors what it's like to work in a busy academic medical center.
This summer, a new group of 35 students who aspire to work in women's health-related careers will shadow physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, researchers and others.
The program's founder, UCI Health gastroenterologist Dr. Nimisha Parekh, spoke to NBC 4 Los Angeles about the increased representation of women in the medical profession compared to when she began her career.
"I think it's really exciting. When I started here, I was the only female provider, so it was really challenging. I think as the years go by, I see our group is growing and there's more women, it's really exciting. I can be a role model for them and mentor."
Parekh is the director of the UCI Health Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at the UCI Health Digestive Health Institute. She is also a professor in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology in the Department of Medicine at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
Parekh is a leading specialist in the treatment of IBD, taking an integrated approach to helping patients manage their condition. Her research interests include outcomes in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, clinical trials for new drug therapies to treat IBD, women's issues and the role of ethnicity in disease outcomes. She also is actively involved in the training of GI fellows, residents and medical students.