OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Physicians Medical Forum (PMF), aims to expand the pipeline and the number of African American/Black, Native Americans, Hispanic and minority students who want to become physicians. PMF, a non-profit organization, provides a network that encourages high school, college/post bac, medical students and residents to pursue their careers as physicians in the Oakland/San Francisco Northern California Bay Area.

To that end, PMF congratulates the students who completed its 2018 Community Health Ambassadors Internship Program (CHA), a 5-week program that develops and creates pathways for students interested in becoming doctors or pharmacists. PMF receives funding from The California Wellness Foundation, Kaiser Foundation Hospital Fund for Community Benefit Programs at the East Bay Community Foundation, San Francisco Foundation and Wells Fargo. The CHA Program was held at Samuel Merritt University, Health Education Center in Oakland, CA and who partners with PMF on education, health and wellness initiatives.

Photo of PMF & CHA Interns from Left to Right include: Ugomma Eze, CHA Program Coordinator and UCSF Medical Student with CHA Ambassadors Interns, Lois Onuoma, Jai Smith, Laetta Diane Brown, Fatima Vidrio, Jeremiah Richard Purdy, Naomi Purdy, Stephanie Lawless and Stalfana Bello, MPA, PMF Executive Director and Kafi Hemphill, CHA Program Coordinator and UCSF Medical Student

Kathryn E. Malone, M.D., (Family Medicine) and Vice-President, Physicians Medical Forum stated that students explored a variety of Primary Care medical topics and other healthcare disparities. Dr. Malone also discussed with the students "the critically important role of the physician in patient's health and wellness and why they must seek and establish networks and mentorships that will provide them with better insight into the real world of medicine".

Stalfana Bello, M.P.A., Executive Director, Physicians Medical Forum said, "The Community Health Ambassadors Internship Program provided the students, who will be first generation doctors in their families, a snapshot of what it takes to become physicians or pharmacists. Most of the students attended our Doctors On Board Pipeline Program and the internship is a natural next step to help students move forward in their journey to become doctors."

Ugomma Eze, CHA Program Coordinator, 3rd year Medical Student and Kafi Hemphill, 4th year Medical Student who are both at UCSF School of Medicine stated that Ambassadors conducted interviews an created a health-focused educational videos presentation for their community-service-project. The Ambassadors focused the video presentation on why it was important for students to become physicians and the positive impacts towards improving health and wellness in the communities they hope to serve.

ABOUT PHYSICIANS MEDICAL FORUM (PMF):
The Physicians Medical Forum is an Oakland, CA based non-profit 501(c)(3) whose mission is to encourage recruitment and retention of African American/Black and minority physicians to eliminate health disparities; improve access to care; and maintain diversity within the profession, thereby, improving the quality of healthcare for the community overall.

Other PMF programs and initiatives include: Doctors On Board Pipeline Program; Doctors Rock Workshop Series on Mentoring; MCAT Prep with Princeton Review; Interviewing skills and writing personal statements; scholarships and stipends for post bac, medical students and residents; Scholarships for Visiting Elective Residency Programs at UC Davis and UCSF Schools of Medicine and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland; physician education and development; networking with legislators and medical organizations and community outreach programs. http://www.PMFMD.com

EDITORS: The following are available for interviews. To arrange interviews, contact: Stalfana Bello | 510.562.5560 | ExecutiveDirector@PMFMD.com

•     Stalfana Bello, M.P.A, PMF Executive Director
•     Albert L. Brooks, M.D., PMF President
•     Ugomma Eze, CHA Program Coordinator, UCSF School of Medicine, Medical Student
•     Kafi Hemphill, CHA Program Coordinator, UCSF School of Medicine, Medical Student
•     Kathryn E. Malone, M.D. PMF Vice-President
•     CHA Student Interns

Please visit us at:
WEBSITE: http://www.pmfmd.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pmfprograms/
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/physicians-medical-forum
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfmwV7dUax42_mmNJwGZrgw

PHYSICIANS MEDICAL FORUM
6114 La Salle Avenue, #601 • Oakland, CA 94611 510.562-5560 p • http://www.pmfmd.com
"The ultimate reason to become a medical doctor is to help people. PMF is in this business"

SOURCE Physicians Medical Forum