The Vertically Integrated Trainee Program (VITP) was planned, developed, and implemented with the goal of bringing together trainees at the undergraduate (university level), graduate (medical school level), and post-graduate (resident/fellow level) to inspire, educate, and direct future physicians and healthcare providers. The VITP was started by a partnership between the Columbia Medical Society, University of South Carolina (USC), and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Columbia in the Fall of 2017 and has continued to grow to the present. Since inception, the VITP has developed a more focused partnership with the USC undergraduate Pre-Health Honor Society Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) and has held social events, mock interview sessions, AMCAS application workshops, and clinical skills workshops. Previously, as Pettis et al^1 and Alexander et al^2 reported, the organization has conducted and published the results of multiple surveys of undergraduate students to determine the extent of their understanding of the medical school admission process.

Furthermore, additional surveys were conducted to determine whether attending VITP events was beneficial and added value to their preparedness and personal development. The results demonstrated that students benefited from these events and gained a better understanding about the process of becoming a physician^1,2. Since implementation, as expected, VITP leadership has changed and an unexpected global pandemic has happened. Both have challenged new leadership teams to wonder how to proceed given the fact that the previous events were always in-person and hands-on. Fortunately, throughout the pandemic, the VITP has been able to virtually host multiple mock interview sessions, an AMCAS application workshop, a question-and-answer student panel, and a trivia competition. In addition, and importantly, the organization has been able to create mentor families to further establish the connection between current medical students and undergraduate students interested in pursuing medicine. Now that a solid base has been developed, benefit has been shown, and resilience demonstrated, the VITP is ready to expand its reach throughout the region in the name of medical education. The VITP would be a synergistic partner and/or component to the Southern Medical Association Physicians in Training Program. Formative discussions of such are currently underway.