One of the best preparations for medical school came from learning about rural health in Guatemala; the experience not only improved my Spanish and appreciation of the culture, but it also gave me an introduction to international medicine.

- Michael Chew, UC Davis School of Medicine, Spring 2009 participant

Comprehensive language acquisition is a time consuming process and necessitates more than just a few weeks of exposure. For this reason, the Somos Hermanos Student Immersion Program targets participants who can devote 6 months to our program. More specifically, the program is for students who have completed their undergraduate studies and are taking a year off of school (e.g. deferring acceptance or applying to medical/graduate schools) before they begin medical school or graduate programs in the health care professions (such as nursing, dentistry, psychology, physical therapy). Most students begin interacting with patients as soon as their first year at most schools and can both utilize and improve upon their language skills and cultural competency. However, although the program targets students before they enter health care graduate programs, we also accept students who have completed an MPH and medical students taking a GAP year.