Dr. Jeffrey Solinas is a family physician at the Plazita Medical Clinic in Watsonville, California. Dr. Solinas is also a UCSC alumnus.

"In 1971, when my Mexican grandmother told me I needed to be medical doctor, there was no Health Sciences degree at UCSC, so I had to create my own pre-med major. Back then, the University allowed you to create an "Independent Major," if you could get three faculty members to back you up, help you choose your classes, and supervise an undergraduate thesis to graduate.

"... I think getting clinical experience before
graduation is a must for students who are
thinking about getting into medicine ... "

"I didn't want to be a straight science major, so I made myself into "pre-med major" after spending the first of two summers volunteering at a United Farm Workers clinic in Delano, California. I combined pre-med requirements with a variety of classes on Chicano and Latin American history, sociology, political science, and anthropology. And I worked in one of my faculty sponsor's labs (H. Hligard, M.D.), sacrificing mice in the furtherance of immunology research.

"My first summer in Delano convinced me doctoring poor people was something I could give my life to. During the second summer in that clinic, I helped care for a young Filipino man with disseminated cocci, a fungus infection throughout his body. I ended up doing my thesis on "Cocci: the Biosocial Cause of Disease," trying to explain why certain ethnic and social groups are more likely to get the severe type of this infection.

"Those two summers volunteering at a clinic were critical in both helping me decide that I wanted to be a doctor, and in giving me the inspiration I would to stick through pre-med at UCSC and, subsequently, medical school at USC, especially the first two non-clinical years. Twenty-five years later, I love being a family doctor in Watsonville and teaching people about medicine

"I've really been impressed by the students that have come to my office from the UCSC Health Sciences Program. Given my own experience, I think getting clinical experience before graduation is a must for students who are thinking about getting into medicine. UCSC students are lucky to have the Health Sciences Program. Good luck to you all! Work hard; play hard!"

Dr. Patrick Meehan is a family physician, and Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Women’s Health Center. He is a UCSC alumnus, class of '78.

"My career has been mostly in public health, preventive medicine and health care administration. Students who intern at the Santa Cruz Women’s Health Center (SCWHC) should expect to get a healthy mix of health care and politics. Our mission is to promote social and economic justice and quality health care for all. 

"Picking a specific path for a career in health care is difficult, especially since most students are not exposed to the variety of options until well into their careers. For example, I did not know about the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s EIS Program (Epidemic Intelligence Service) until near the end of my residency. Yet this career move and the training I received radically changed the trajectory of my career. So, we try to expose students to many options. At SCWHC, interns talk and work with physician assistants, integrative medicine docs, nurse practitioners, acupuncturists, chiropractors, care coordinators, and others. 

"At SCWHC, we believe that politics and work are inseparable. We're an activist organization. We talk with interns and provide them with readings on the need for a single payer health plan and on health disparities. Students have worked on a variety of projects, from developing health education materials to making displays for our lobby about denim day – a national day of awareness about violence against women. Students can attend board meetings and learn how non-profits work. They also see patients with our providers. We've had at least one student return to volunteer apart from the for-credit internships, and become part of our extended family."