A team from the UCR School of Medicine won first place in the Medical Student Quality Improvement/Patient Safety Poster Presentations at the 2026 American College of Physicians (ACP) Southern California Regional Conference held September 26 in Orange, California.
The project by Nathan Everhart, Emily Chan, Joyce Navarro, and Dr. Robert Rodriguez was titled “A Systematic Review of Emergency Department Based Vaccine Surveillance, Messaging, and Delivery.”
The team explored the potential of emergency departments to improve access to routine vaccinations, said Navarro, a medical student. She said the review identified strategies, including provider recommendations, educational messaging, electronic health record prompts, and standardized vaccination workflows.
“These strategies could be implemented to improve the access and delivery of preventive vaccinations to vulnerable populations,” she said.
Rodriguez, a professor of medicine who advised the team, said the project addressed a critically important topic in public health for underserved populations.
“The award is a testament to the student team’s diligence, efforts, and ingenuity in accomplishing this project,” he said.