Reorienting Orientation: Introducing the Social Determinants of Health to First-Year Medical Students

Date of Review: February, 2019

This resources. from MedEdPORTAL, describes a series of six 1-hour small group sessions conducted during medical student orientation. Each session addresses a different aspect of social determinants, including LGBT care, immigration and language barriers. One particular innovation with this curriculum was that it was developed by a committee of both students and faculty. Students had high ratings of satisfaction with the curriculum and improved self-reported knowledge and attitudes. Complete resources are provided along with recommendations on adapting the curriculum to other locales. It is unclear whether these improvements are sustained when students enter the clinical years, when attitudes often change. — Mita Goel, MD, NCEAS and Sarah Hale, MD, NCEAS

Corresponding Author’s Email:

angelalala.song@gmail.com

Institution:

Baylor College of Medicine

Where Was the Curriculum Implemented?

Houston, Texas

Source of the Curriculum/Resource:

MedEdPORTAL

Outcomes that Have Been Reported for the Curriculum:

Learner Satisfaction or reaction

Self-reported learner attitude

Self-reported learner knowledge

Outcome and Study Design:

Pre/Post

Level of Learner Assessment:

Appreciation of content/attitude assessment (self-reflection, blogging with rubric)