Carla Vasquez Vergara grew up going with her abuelita to doctor appointments across the Inland Empire.
Although she was just a kid, Vergara translated important medical information between her Spanish-speaking grandmother and her English-speaking physician.
“Even though I was young, it felt like I had this responsibility on my shoulders,” she said.
Her story might sound familiar to many first-generation Americans charged with translation duties for older family members, especially in California — where 39% of the population is Latino, yet Latinos account for only 6% of California’s physicians.
Acutely concerned with bridging that gulf as far back as 20 years ago, the UC Irvine School of Medicine enrolled its first class of students in the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community in 2004. The program, better known as PRIME-LC, was both “way ahead of its time and way overdue at the same time,” said Dr. Charles Vega, its co-founder and director.
PRIME-LC students train to become physician-activists, with the intention to work in underserved Latino communities.
About 100 out of 120 program graduates have chosen work in safety-net healthcare settings, Vega said. Half of them have had leadership positions outside of their practice, and three in four have taught or mentored students and aspiring doctors.
Carla Vazquez Vergara, 24, a student in UCI Medical School’s PRIME-LC program, is pictured on campus in Irvine on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“It’s extremely heartening to see that the students we choose — with some training and access to a network of professionals — are succeeding and collectively making a huge difference,” he said.
On Aug. 9, Vergara got her white coat, ceremonially joining the newest cohort of UCI medical students. But like other PRIME-LC students, who take extra coursework to complete the program, Vergara’s medical school journey actually began earlier this summer.
Part of their summer work included a trip to the Central Valley to consult with farm workers about their healthcare challenges in preparation to make pitches to state leaders in Sacramento about ways to improve health equity. This experience is emblematic of the activism side of PRIME-LC’s physician-activist mission, Vega explained.
“It’s amazing to see our students have the bandwidth to take a message from folks who have the least power and the most disenfranchised and then transfer that in a way that makes sense to folks who have the most power,” Vega said.
Carla Vazquez Vergara, 24, center, walks with her family, from left, father Carlos Vazquez, mother, Cynthia Vazquez-Vergara, and boyfriend Christian Cabrera prior to the UC Irvine School of Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in Irvine on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Vergara said cultural competency — not just language — is another reason she wants to see more Latina physicians.
She points to awareness of traditions and cuisine as a vehicle for doctors to make health recommendations that will stick with patients.
“Mexican food is at the center of everything for my family,” she said. “My grandparents own a tortillería. Every Sunday we get together and we have pombazos or enchiladas. Unfortunately, some of my family members have cardiovascular disease and weight issues,” she said.
“It’s easy to say, ‘Eat healthier, put some greens in your diet, et cetera,’ but it’s important for doctors to understand how to make recommendations for a healthier lifestyle that mix with a person’s culture,” she added.
“That’s why, for me,” Vergara said, “it’s so important to have people in my community as physicians.”
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