Kevin Izquierdo and Marizabel Orellana, who recently completed their second-year medical studies at the University of California, Riverside, have been awarded the Oliver Goldsmith, MD, Scholarship by Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region.

In addition to receiving $5,000 scholarships each, Izquierdo and Orellana will participate in a mentoring program with a Kaiser Permanente clinician and complete a clinical rotation at a Kaiser Permanente facility. Izquierdo and Orellana were among a dozen California students to be awarded the scholarship this year.

“We are proud to honor young doctors who achieve academically and go the extra mile by contributing their time and expertise to the community,” said Jeffrey Weisz, M.D., executive medical director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group, and creator of the scholarship program. “We salute them for being a part of our Kaiser Permanente community benefit mission, extending themselves beyond our doors to deliver what everyone deserves, high quality care.”

The scholarship award recognizes a commitment to providing high-quality and culturally responsive care to the region’s diverse patient population. It is named for Oliver Goldsmith, M.D., who retired as the medical director of the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in 2003, and during his tenure, made significant contributions to promote diversity and culturally responsive care throughout the Kaiser Permanente Southern California region.

Izquierdo, of Fontana, was a student in the UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Sciences, which in partnership with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA provides the first two years of medical school at UCR. He plans a career in internal medical with a subspecialty in cardiology. “I have a strong interest in cardiology and an ideal situation would be to do cardiology part-time and do primary care the other half,” he said.

He was founder and director of Riverside’s Street Medicine program which connects medical students with a volunteer physician to deliver medical care to patients without homes. “It touches people when they see that a physician has taken the time and effort to see them on their own terms,” said Izquierdo, who himself wants to be a Street Medicine volunteer physician. “It is something I would like to make part of my career.”

While at UCR, Orellana, of South Gate, launched the monthly Junior Interns Program at the Renacimiento Community Center in Pomona. In summer 2009, she expanded it into a six-week summer program to engage youth ages 11 to 18 in leadership development activities to spark their interest in pursuing higher education and potential careers in health care. It included tours of UCR and California Polytechnic State University at Pomona, instruction in taking a person’s pulse and blood pressure, and volunteer opportunities at a veterinary hospital.

Orellana was admitted into the inaugural class of UCLA’s Program in Medical Education (PRIME) and elected to complete her first two years of medical training at UCR in the UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Sciences. PRIME is a five-year dual degree program leading to an M.D. and a master’s degree in an area such as public health, public policy, information technology or business. It trains leaders in medicine who will address policy, care and research in health care for underserved populations.

Orellana, mother of a 13-year-old daughter, plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health along with her M.D. degree. Following residency training, she plans a career in family medicine or emergency medicine.

Izquierdo and Orellana recently began their third year of medical school at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.