STRETCHED Program - The University of Tulsa
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STRETCHED Program

TU’s STRETCHED (STudents Reaching Excellence Through Collaboration with Higher EDucation) program is dedicated to increasing the representation of healthcare practitioners from under-represented groups. This involves forging collaborations among local institutions of higher education, community stakeholders, local school districts, and health care professionals to formulate effective strategies for exposing students to careers in medicine.

The program aims to offer early exposure of medical careers to high schoolers, encompassing mentoring and education on college admission requirements and financial support options. Additionally, STRETCHED strives to provide services and resources to assist higher education institutions in recruiting students from under-represented groups for allied health-related degree programs. Ultimately, STRETCHED aspires to be a community and regional leader that plays a pivotal role in developing and preparing the next generation of health care practitioners.

Ninth Grade: Character Development Symposium​

  • Help students understand the important intrinsic motivators such as resiliency, diligence, perseverance, enhanced agency, and time management.​
  • Emphasizes the importance of shadowing, participating in health-related clubs and networking events.​
  • Personality test to help understand how a specific professions might fit with a unique personality.​
  • Keynote speaker​.

10th Grade: College Excursion​

  • Two excursions – one in the fall and one in the spring.​
  • Field trip to a small and large college/university, allowing students to see the campus environment of each institution.
  • Learn about health-related programs including physical therapy, medicine, nursing, dentistry, clinical psychology.​
  • Tour the facilities and meet students and faculty.​
  • Meet a university financial aid adviser to learn about ways of making college affordable.​

11th Grade: Three-Day Summer Academy​

  • Three-day camp​.
  • Core Components: exposure to health care professions, standardized test preparation, financial aid and literacy, and a motivational speaker series.​
  • Didactic exposure method that includes hands-on skills laboratories.​
  • Field activities that provide exposure to student practitioners within their specific practice settings.​
  • Partner with Saint Francis Health System, Ascension St. John Health System, Hillcrest Healthcare System, and Tulsa Bone and Joint Associates.​

12th Grade: Transitioning from High School to College Symposium​

  • Panel discussion with TU pre-med students about making the transition from high school to college​ followed by a Q&A session.​
  • Learn tips for preparing a college admission essay followed by a breakout session.​
  • Keynote speaker.