Intersession A – Societal Forces of Health and Disease
Intersession A (A1 & A2): This course is a one week intensive, horizons phase course conducted in person at the university campus where 4th year medical students participate in engaged learning experiences with a focus on skill acquisition and competency assessment in the realm of healthcare and Societal Forces of Health and Disease. This course is a component of the Medicine and the Human Experience Curriculum.
Learning Objectives Include:
- Demonstrate graduation level ability to navigate barriers to patient care (system barriers, SDOH factors, racism related inequities)
- Contribute to the UMass Chan academic community by working with/mentoring more junior trainees during defined vertical activity (PCHC, pathways)
- Demonstrate graduation level competence in advanced communication scenarios including patient handoffs, challenging/end of life conversations, obtaining contest and shared decision making
- Use a critical appraisal tool to evaluate peer reviewed publications in journal club format to inform patient care.
- Demonstrate proficiency using unbiased and inclusive language to screen for social drivers of health and discuss with patients, resources in the health care system and community to address identified social drivers of health. (Pro3H, Pro7H, Com3H, Sol3H)
- Examine specialty specific considerations in screening for and addressing the SDOH and the role they play in an interprofessional team. (Pro3H, Sci3H)
- Analyze potential ethical challenges related to health inequities created by the uneven distribution and availability of health care services and resources. (Pro2H)
- Discuss current validated screening tools for SDOH, the way that data is used by local and national organizations, including US Department of Health and Human Services, to drive evidence-based interventions. (Sci3H, Sol7H)
- Critically evaluate and consider patient specific and community generalizability of proposed strategies to address social drivers of health. (Adv1H, Nav4H)
Recognize that lifetime exposure to social health adversities (i.e. poverty, racism/discrimination, inequitable access to basic needs, etc.) leads to chronic stress and increases risk of developing mental and physical health conditions.
FEB 10 2025 | cjb