![Traditional Healer Miguel Flores with Francisco Lucio, JD, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Traditional Healer Miguel Flores with Francisco Lucio, JD, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion](/sites/default/files/images/news/blessing-ceremony.jpg)
College of Medicine - Phoenix Holds 3rd Annual Blessing Ceremony
![Traditional Healer Miguel Flores with Francisco Lucio, JD, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Traditional Healer Miguel Flores with Francisco Lucio, JD, Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion](/sites/default/files/images/news/blessing-ceremony.jpg)
![Lorna Rapaich Lorna Rapaich](/sites/default/files/inline-images/rapaich-blessing.jpg)
The purpose of the ceremony was to recognize American Indian and Alaskan Native students who are training to enter health professions.
Officials with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion said it’s important to express support to our Native American students, whose ancestral land our medical institution sits on.
![Brett Colby Clark Brett Colby Clark](/sites/default/files/inline-images/clark-blessing.jpg)
![Christopher Denetso Christopher Denetso](/sites/default/files/inline-images/denetso-blessing.jpg)
Through the years, invitations were extended to the rest of the University of Arizona Health Sciences community; the College of Medicine – Phoenix held its first Blessing Ceremony in July 2017.
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About the College
Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to optimize health and health care in Arizona and beyond. By cultivating collaborative research locally and globally, the college accelerates discovery in a number of critical areas — including cancer, stroke, traumatic brain injury and cardiovascular disease. Championed as a student-centric campus, the college has graduated more than 800 physicians, all of whom received exceptional training from nine clinical partners and more than 2,700 diverse faculty members. As the anchor to the Phoenix Bioscience Core, which is projected to have an economic impact of $3.1 billion by 2025, the college prides itself on engaging with the community, fostering education, inclusion, access and advocacy.