PROGRAM

Healthcare Career Mentorship Program

To nurture a younger generation of compassionate and empathetic healthcare providers, the Tzu Chi Collegiate Association (TCCA) Northeast Region is offering current college students early exposure to the healthcare industry by connecting them with a mentor in the field of healthcare. The program runs year-round.

Program Goals

To nurture a future healthcare workforce that is prepared through early exposure, supported through personalized mentorship, and inspired to serve with compassion and empathy through community engagement and interactive seminars.

How It Works

Mentees must complete 40 hours of community engagement in different areas. They must also attend 70% of the seminars offered throughout the year in order to receive shadowing, research, or internship opportunities that provide unique insight into the field of healthcare.

Mentees must meet with mentors (in the method of their choosing) at least once a month or on their mutually agreed upon frequency. Regular meetings ensure mentees gain more knowledge of their mentor’s specialization and incorporate the guidance and lessons shared by their mentor into their career of choice.

Program Cycle

The program runs from November to July of the next year, followed by an additional two months of shadowing, research, or internship opportunities for qualified mentees. Enrollment begins in September.

What to Expect
  • Exposure to the healthcare industry as college student
  • Activities to grow your empathy and compassion
  • Community engagement (including 20 club hours and 20 hours of community service)
  • Networking opportunities with peers and professionals
  • Mentorship by experienced healthcare professionals

Testimonials

I joined the Tzu Chi Healthcare Career Mentorship Program after an unsuccessful medical school application cycle in 2021. I am so grateful that I joined when I did, because the program provided me with the resources and encouragement necessary to be successful on my second try. Through the program, I had the opportunity to attend informative seminars and gain access to mentors in my desired field. My mentors gave me valuable advice on how to restructure my application materials and took the time out of their busy schedules to conduct mock interviews with me once I had started receiving interview invites. One of my mentors even offered me the opportunity to participate in clinical research with her! The program was with me from start to finish, through my highs and lows, and thanks to their support, I can proudly say that I will be starting medical school in fall 2023!
Kelly Zhou, previous mentee
The Tzu Chi Pre-health Mentorship Program helped me tremendously by connecting me with two amazing physician mentors who are very invested in my growth and success. Both of my mentors offered mock-interview sessions to help me practice for my medical school interviews and were always there whenever I needed guidance. It was incredible having mentors in the field that I am pursuing as that really boosted my confidence during the medical school application process. I was also amazed by the incredible work done by the program’s admin team. They planned informative seminars, invited speakers from different healthcare fields, and connected us with various shadowing and community engagement opportunities. I am very glad that I joined this program a year ago and feel immensely grateful for the mentors and admin team who dedicated their time and efforts to this program.
Xiaojia Wang, previous mentee
The Tzu Ching Medical Mentorship program truly supported my success in navigating the lengthy process of applying for medical school. My mentor and I met monthly for over a year as I prepared for the MCAT, drafted my personal statement and secondary application essays, and prepared for interviews. She provided invaluable advice for not only how to deal with the present challenges I was facing at each stage of the application process, but also strategies to overcome the kinds of obstacles I might face in medical school, residency, and as a physician. My mentor went above and beyond to support my development and confidence going into the application cycle, with words of encouragement about my strength as an applicant, revisions to my personal statement, and mock interviews with thorough feedback. We developed a mentor-mentee relationship that I am immensely grateful to have cultivated, in which I feel comfortable continuing to reach out whenever I need insight from a trusted individual in my personal and professional journey moving forward.
Alice Tsai, previous mentee

Presenting Partners

TCCA Northeast Region

TCCA
Boston

TCCA Columbia University

TCCA
Cornell University

TCCA Fordham University

TCCA
New York
City

TCCA
New York University

TCCA
Stony Brook University

Challenge Start and End Dates

October 16, 2021 – November 13, 2021

What You’ll Be Doing 

Personal Effort:

Use the Cred. mobile app to select 1-3 actions that you want to work on every day for 30 days, and document your progress in the app. 

#SustainableLiving action items will be related to the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

If you choose #EatRainbow action, you will be receiving different actions every day to try a fun and healthy plant-based diet designed by our food experts with years of experience in the nutrition world.

Group Support:

Join a weekly 45-minute live webinar to learn about the group’s progress, learn from guest speakers, and interact with other participants. Recordings will be available for anyone who cannot meet our schedule.

Webinar Schedules:
Webinar Schedules in US time zone (please convert to your local time accordingly)

October 16, 9:00 pm – 9:45 pm ET / 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm PT
Onboarding

October 23, 9:00 pm – 9:45 pm ET / 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm PT
Connect, Reflect and Learn

October 30, 9:00 pm – 9:45 pm ET / 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm PT
Connect, Reflect and Learn

November 6, 9:00 pm ET – 9:45 pm ET / 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm PT
Connect, Reflect and Learn

November 13, 9:00 pm ET – 9:45 pm ET / 6:00 pm – 6:45 pm PT
Celebration

Presenting Partners

Debby Darwin
President of Youth Foundation

Brian Brown
President of Youth Foundation

Catherine Cool
President of Youth Foundation

Who Is Eligible?

We welcome anyone over the age of 15. Bring a friend and double the impact.

Join as a Participant

RSVP with the form below. You will receive an email with further instructions for downloading the mobile app and creating a user account. (Please check your inbox for the incoming message.)

Join as a Collaborator

Whether you’re a college club, high school club, social influencers, NGO or individual, we invite you to help spread the word on social media. We also encourage you to host side events to help increase the impact of this 30 day challenge. Check out the toolkit for useful content on collaboration.

Questions?

Feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to learn more about the event.

Previous Challenge Highlights

In early 2021, we hosted a 30-day well-being challenge to support physical, mental, and spiritual health and combat the impacts of COVID-19. Participants from 11 different countries completed a total of 2,503 actions to promote the 3rd Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Good Health and Wellbeing.

These deeds include:

0
acts of mindfulness
0
acts of compassion
0
acts of resilience
0
acts of gratitude

To learn more about the UN’s 3rd SDG, please visit: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal3

To learn more about the UN’s 3rd SDG,