Hiyun Lee knew she wanted to combine STEM, community service and leadership — and was accepted into an accelerated program that reserves a seat in medical school for incoming undergraduate students.

To help address the primary care physician shortage and to follow her dreams of serving her community, Alanie Flores is embarking on a new and innovative three-year MD program.

Using immersive, artificial scenarios — whether they involve high-tech gadgetry or actual humans pretending to be sick — is a sure-fire way to develop students who feel well-prepared by the time they’re seeing real patients.