Bill > SB21

This bill highlights the critical shortage of primary care physicians in California, particularly in inland southern California, and the underrepresentation of certain ethnic groups in the medical field. It notes that California has fewer medical school seats per capita than the national average and that a significant majority of its counties face a primary care physician shortage. The bill recognizes the University of California, Riverside's (UCR) new four-year School of Medicine, which has received preliminary accreditation and is set to be the first new public medical school in the state in over 40 years. This school is intended to serve the inland southern California region with a public mission to increase and diversify the physician workforce and improve local health outcomes, with a specific focus on underserved populations. To achieve this, UCR's medical school is implementing strategies such as developing student pipeline programs, using a holistic review for applicants, emphasizing primary care in its curriculum, creating new residency programs in needed specialties, and focusing on recruiting and retaining diverse students and faculty. Furthermore, the bill mentions UCR's innovative "loan-to-scholarship" program and its efforts to educate students about existing physician recruitment and retention programs, including the Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Program. The bill also states that state funding appropriated to the UCR medical school will help address physician shortages and support the goals of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Finally, the bill requests that the UCR School of Medicine develop a program to identify eligible medical residents and assist them in applying for physician retention programs.