Schweitzer Fellowship
The Schweitzer Fellowship provides community service fellowships for graduate students in health-related professional fields to design community based projects to address unmet health needs.
Program Description
In 2007, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is expanded its program to include the Bay Area of California.
In 1991 the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship began its U.S. Schweitzer Fellows Program with the idea that “there are millions of underserved people in the world, many of whom are in our own backyards.” Today the program annually unites over 125 graduate students in various health-related fields who assist communities where health needs are not being met.
The Bay Area program, which began as a collaboration between UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco and Stanford University, will be the first such program west of Chicago. In 2007 we accepted 12 Fellows and will expand the program to approximately 30 by 2009.
Each U.S. Schweitzer Fellow designs and implements a year-long project of at least 200 hours of direct service through a community-based agency. Fellows gain knowledge, skills and experiences rarely found in traditional academic training. In addition, U.S. Fellows gather regularly for interdisciplinary peer support and leadership development. The Fellows encourage others to engage in service and build stronger links between their professional schools and the surrounding communities.
OCH Involvement
Evelyn Ho, Program Manager, OCH is on the advisory board along with Dr. Gabe Garcia. Responsibilities of the advisory board include: meetings to develop program plans, organize informational sessions at the home institution review applications, participate in interviews and selection process, attend bimonthly conference calls, assist with planning retreat, and attend a few of the monthly Fellows meeting.
Current Fellows
Three Stanford medical students have been selected for Bay Area Schweitzer Fellowship for 2009-2010. This year’s fellows and their service projects are:
· Lauren Chan, SMSIV: Development of a domestic violence peer counseling support group in collaboration with the Asian Americans for Community Involvement, San Jose.
· Shane Wong, SMSI: Outreach, screening, and advocacy to promote the health of the homeless. In collaboration with the Opportunity Center, Palo Alto.
· Andrew Lee, SMSII: Development of social work programs to ensure quality care. In collaboration with Pacific Free Clinic, San Jose.
Past Schweitzer Fellows
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Steven Lin, SMS IV & Elizabeth Chao, PhD Candidate, Biochemistry Elizabeth and Steven designed and implemented a comprehensive hepatitis B Initiative at the Pacific Free Clinic. With the Asian Liver Center at Stanford, they provided free hepatitis B testing, vaccination, treatment and education for all Asian and Pacific Islanders clients with low-income, no insurance, and low English proficiency. |
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Prasanna Ananth Prasanna created and taught a curriculum on asthma symptoms, treatment and management in after-school programs in East Palo Alto. The curriculum included simple, engaging activities for children with asthma to better control their own illness. |
For more information about the program, contact Evelyn Ho in the Office of Community Health or schweitzerfellowship.org.
