Clinical Clerkship in Community Health of the Underserved
Overview
Focused on 3rd and 4th year medical students, this innovative initiative is designed to nurture intercultural empathy and understanding, particularly for medically underserved populations including Black, LatinX, immigrant, refugee, and unhoused communities. This program's core objective is twofold: to expose students to the challenges faced by marginalized populations and equip them with practical tools to become empathetic, effective healthcare practitioners and advocates.
Program Description
The REACH Clerkship immerses students in the realities of underserved communities and fosters a profound awareness of the historical and contemporary barriers these populations encounter within the healthcare system. Through real-world exposure and hands-on experiences, students gain insights that transcend traditional classroom learning, enabling them to bridge the gap between clinical knowledge and genuine patient understanding.
This initiative stands as a beacon of progress in the ongoing struggle for equity within the field of medicine. By instilling empathy, understanding, and advocacy skills in our future medical practitioners, we pave the way for a healthcare system that is truly inclusive, informed, and just. We invite discourse, collaboration, and further exploration of the educational strategies that actively contribute to the dismantling of systemic racism in healthcare and society at large.
Participating Clinics
Contact Us
If you are a community clinic affiliate and would like to be involved in our clinical site development, curriculum delivery, and overall collaboration, please reach out to:
Dr. Nancy Cuan, REACH Clerkship Director at cuannan@stanford.edu
Dr. Kelsea Jackson, REACH Clerkship Program Manager at kelsea@stanford.edu.
Coursework
The Clinical Clerkship in Community Health of the Underserved is a part of the Racial Equity to Advance a Community of Health (REACH) Initiative at Stanford Medicine. The REACH Clerkship provides students with immersive experience in caring for the medically underserved at community sites such as Federally Qualified Health Centers and community clinics.
The components of the Clinical Clerkship in Community Health of the Underserved are:
- Didactics and workshops to explore topics in social justice and health equity and develop clinical skills in working with the underserved.
- Rotations at one or more clinical sites serving the underserved assigned through a match process.
- Reflections (in multiple possible formats including journaling, art, and class sessions) on experiences that arise during the clerkship, particularly in the areas of social justice and health equity.
Clerkship Schedule Overview
- Four weeks of outpatient clinics in primary care and/or specialty clinics, (2-week or longitudinal options available upon approval)
- Four half-days of didactic sessions/workshops, and
- A final case presentation.
Clerkship Core Topics
- Week 1: Bias, social justice, health advocacy
- Week 2: Food, housing, job insecurity
- Week 3: History of racism and white supremacy as it influences access to medicine today
- Week 4: Violence response and resources; Final Case presentations
Contact Us
If you are a community clinic affiliate and would like to be involved in our clinical site development, curriculum delivery, and overall collaboration, please reach out to Dr. Nancy Cuan, REACH Clerkship Director at cuannan@stanford.edu, or Dr. Kelsea Jackson, REACH Clerkship Program Manager at kelsea@stanford.edu.
Nancy Cuan, MD
Clerkship Director
cuannan@stanford.edu
Kelsea Jackson, PhD
Clerkship Program Manager
kelsea@stanford.edu