University of Nebraska

Overview

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) offers a dynamic and interdisciplinary academic enrichment experience that emphasizes a global approach to learning. Our cross-cutting interprofessional curriculum is comprised of faculty and staff from the UNMC Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy. We strive to graduate confident and proud SHPEP Scholars ready to pursue their educational goals and dreams.

Our six-week program is focused on essential competencies required of our future successful health professionals, who will be tasked with assuring health equity, access, and delivering culturally and linguistically competent health services. Critical elements of the UNMC SHPEP curriculum include a broad spectrum of resilience and personal health and wellness promotion, fostering self-care practices, problem-solving, time-, and financial management, and study skills. UNMC SHPEP Scholars are involved in a wide range of academic enrichment activities in the basic and social sciences and interactive workshops aimed at strengthening students’ research and inquiry skills. Multiple career development sessions are intentionally distributed across all professional disciplines represented and are used to support scholars in their exploration of various health professions, and to demystify the admissions process to health profession schools.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is committed to preparing and growing a diverse and passionate health professions workforce. We strongly encourage students from underrepresented and divergent backgrounds to apply.

COVID-19 INSTITUTION POLICIES:

• Masks may be required for all indoor activities.
• Vaccination is required to attend this site.
• More information regarding the campus COVID-19 policies: Click here

Clinical Experience: Due to ongoing uncertainties around the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to guarantee job shadowing placements. However, we will continue to support scholars in securing shadowing opportunities in their local communities through special workshops and in collaboration with each of the scholars’ respective learning community leads.

Health Profession Tracks Offered:

• Medical
• Dental
• Nursing
• Pharmacy

Finances

Meals: On weekdays, we provide scholars with three meals per day. On weekends and holidays, scholars are provided brunch and dinner. We strive to accommodate all dietary restrictions of which we are made aware. Due to limitations that come with large cafeteria operations, we have not been able to fully accommodate dietary restrictions such as kosher and halal. 

Stipend: The UNMC SHPEP program will provide a $1000.00 stipend distributed in two installments. The first installment of $500 is paid to scholars on Friday afternoon of the program’s second week, and the second installment of $500 is distributed the Friday of the fourth week of the program.

Living

Social Activities: UNMC offers a generous lineup of social activities. Field trips include visits to the Lincoln State Capitol, the world-famous Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, area state parks, as well as forest climbing and zip-lining adventures. All scholars are assigned to social activity, and residence life leads who engage small teams of scholars in structured community-building activities. Scholars have the option to run for a position on the  SHPEP UNMC Student Advisory Board (SAB), which, among other things, is responsible for organizing and leading various events and wellness activities throughout the duration of the program. SAB elections take place virtually in advance of the start of the program.