May 1, 2024 — For UF biochemistry undergraduate student Nicole Hernandez, the opportunity to virtually shadow health care professionals solidified her decision to stay on the pre-med track.

“It has been very eye-opening to see how the teams all work together and how you have to develop a certain level of communication skills to be successful,” she said.

Hernandez, a May 2024 UF graduate who plans to apply to medical school following a gap year, served on the events committee and as student ambassador for Medi-Gators, a shadowing program that aims to provide mentorship to its members. While navigating the career options available in health care can be challenging, the program offers exposure and experiences that shed light on some of these paths.

Medi-Gators, which is run through the UF College of Medicine’s department of neurology, started as a virtual program in 2020, when access to traditional in-person shadowing was restricted due to COVID-19. The program allows pre-health students to interact through Zoom with health care professionals who work in various fields.

Medi-Gators recently received two university-level awards: the Office of Sustainability’s Champions for Change Award, signifying the organization’s outstanding contributions in the areas of health and wellness; and a Career Influencer Award from the Career Connections Center for having demonstrated commitment to the career development of UF students.

During each shadowing session, participants hear about patient cases, gain an overview of each career and learn about different specialties, in hopes of narrowing down their area of interest. Medi-Gators then provides structured mentorship, hands-on activities, peer mentorship and networking opportunities to further guide students. Since January 2023, the Medi-Gators program expanded their programming to seven other colleges in Florida, providing virtual shadowing to over 3,000 students each semester under an umbrella program called Medi-Futures.

Medi-Gators offers inclusive participation and aims to improve access to health-related opportunities for all students. More than 1,500 UF students participate each semester.

“Our mission is to be an accessible and flexible program for students from all backgrounds to gain experience while also reducing barriers to the pipeline to professional programs,” said executive director and co-founder Alyson Moriarty. “We aim to guide them as best as we can to support them in becoming strong applicants for health professional programs and eventually successful matriculants.”

Through a partnership with the College of Medicine Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development and UF Health, eight members of Medi-Gators, including Moriarty and her co-founder, Pouya Ameli, M.D., M.S., the Medi-Gators faculty director and an assistant professor of neurology, attended the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Learn Serve Lead conference in Seattle in November. At the conference, the Medi-Gators team met medical professionals from across the country and discovered how they can build their careers and help their pre-health peers.

“It was a great way for us to bridge our current offerings and the expectations of medical schools to help us better prepare and support our students,” said Moriarty, who plans to apply to medical school and is working toward her master’s degree in medical sciences through an online program at the University of South Florida. “We gained insights into leadership skills and found ways to improve so we can influence the world of academic medicine in the future.”