At UCSF, we are committed to serving our diverse communities. Some of you may have noticed the high school students who have recently been shadowing in our department at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, as part of the “FACES for the FUTURE Coalition” program. In 2000, the FACES program was established in Oakland, CA, to provide much needed health career, wellness, and leadership development support to diverse youth.
Assistant Professor of Anesthesia and Medical Director of the ZSFG preoperative evaluation clinic, Dr. Laura Lang, was fortunate to have precepted 5 students over 4 months through the FACES program. These local students spent Wednesday mornings in various anesthesia locations, and were generally from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds. After completion of the 7-week session, the students shared written quotes about their experiences, including:
"Thank you for allowing me to shadow and observe a variety of health care professions regarding anesthesiology. I appreciate that you created an inclusive and positive learning environment for me to thrive in. I've learned so much about the important role anesthesiology has in surgery. This internship has inspired me to possibly pursue a career as an anesthesiologist"
"I got to see things I never would've thought I seen at this age. I'm so thankful that you got me to see a C-section because being an OBGYN is my dream job and being able to be exposed to that was awesome."
We look forward to continuing to partner with leading innovators in academia, science, technology and industry in pursuit of our public mission.