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For more than a decade, the Summer Medical Education Program (SMEP) has helped committed students prepare for medical school - and the medical school application process. This the second year we will be adding dentistry into the program for those students interested in a career in dentistry. Now known as the Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP)
SMDEP is a FREE, six-week summer program, offering eligible students intensive, and personalized, medical and dental school preparation. In addition,  students get a look at their future in medicine by immersing themselves in the clinical environment at a busy teaching hospital. A well established and well respected academic enrichment program, SMDEP is offered around the country.
SMDEP is a program of the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), whose mission, to improve the health of all Americans, is fulfilled by providing grants that explore many possible solutions to society's most pressing health problems. RWJF launched SMEP in 1989 to address the nation's continuing need for a diverse physician workforce. Medicine offers one of the most professionally, and personally satisfying careers in our society. Yet, today, Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans, among others, are underrepresented in the medical and dental professions. While these groups make up nearly 25 percent of the U.S. population, these three groups together comprise only 9 percent of the nation's doctors. At the same time, the nation's population is becoming increasingly diverse, and America's need for physicians and dentist who reflect that diversity is now greater than ever.
By helping minority students become more competitive candidates for medical and dental school, the SMDEP works to increase the number of minority physicians and dentists nationwide.
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