Scholarly Concentration: Health Equity & Social Justice

The Health Equity and Social Justice Scholarly Concentration (HESJ-SC) welcomes students interested in a deeper, more focused learning experience that centers on health justice and Equity First. The Equity First curricular paradigm views medicine and scholarly work as an application of equity, justice, and humanism, and seeks to challenge biases engendered by dominant curricular frameworks, including those rooted in racism and white supremacy.

The Health Equity & Social Justice SC is a new endeavor for 1st and 2nd year medical students with a desire to engage in social change work—from the inside out. As physicians and healers, we must often embody the social position of ally, advocate, or activist for change in order to advance health equity for marginalized patients and communities.  Such positions require critical awareness of the social drivers that shape how we view medicine and the delivery of care, as well as a deep understanding of how to translate theory into action. Unfortunately, learning experiences which uplift these elements of change are rare in the medical education setting. The REACH Health Equity & Social Justice Concentration seeks to address this gap by helping students form their identity as change agents at the intersection of social justice and medicine. 

The HESJ-SC is grounded in important pedagogical tools such as critical consciousness & self-reflection,  transformational thinking, and praxis, functionalized within a dialogic and collaborative environment. Important themes of well-being, community, and leadership constitute core thematic elements which are emphasized throughout the SC pathway. 

The Health Equity and Social Justice Scholarly Concentration is an application area. As such, students are required to complete 6 units of Foundation coursework and 6 units of HESJ Application coursework. The HESJ-SC is a 3-component pathway comprising the (1) HESJ-SC Core Foundations Course, (2) HESJ-SC Skills Course, and (3) Practicum, as detailed below. Courses will enroll 6-10 students per term and will include on-campus and offsite activities.