UC Merced, which held a preview day in October, above, hopes to get an early start on training doctors who will stay in the area<137,,> to establish From left, waving, Lee Logan, 21, Chris Chin, 22, and Steven Ramos, 21, of the UCM fraternity Sigma Chi, take children from Merced on a tour of the campus as part of a philanthropy event, as parents and prospective students check out the campus along Scholars Way during UC Merced Preview Day on Saturday (10-19-13)<137>.<252>

CHRISTOPHER WINTERFELDT cwinterfeldt@mercedsunstar.com Buy Photo

While a medical school at UC Merced is years away, the university is three years deep into a program training doctors with hopes that theyll stick around after they graduate.

UC Merceds San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education, also called PRIME, is a joint program among UC Merced; UC Davis School of Medicine; and the University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Medical Education Program. It enrolled its first UC Merced students in 2011.

Its a huge accomplishment, right now, that we can say we are training physicians in the San Joaquin Valley for the San Joaquin Valley, said Brandy Ramos Nikaido, director of external relations and special projects for UC Merced.

Nikaido said the plans to open a full-fledged medical school at UC Merced are progressing, but its too early to estimate an opening date. The process is a long and expensive one, she said. It does not help the public universitys cause that the state saw budget deficits year after year in the late 2000s.

In the meantime, the school moves forward on educating doctors.

Students admitted to the program spend their first two years at the UC Davis campus in Sacramento. The groups third and fourth years are spent treating patients under the supervision of doctors at San Joaquin Valley clinics and hospitals.

There are 17 students enrolled in the UC Merced medical program, with a new crop coming in the fall. One requirement for students before being admitted to the program is a knowledge of and connection to the Valley, Nikaido said.

The program kicked off after getting a $5 million grant from the United Health Foundation in 2006.

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UC Merced medical school a ways off, but still training doctors