Program Background

Healthcare professionals and institutions are increasingly being called upon to address the structural determinants of health and health inequities in our society. The health inequities present an enormous challenge to mission-driven healthcare providers to serve all patient populations equally and create a thriving workforce. 

Clinicians play an essential role in creating the structural change needed to build a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future for our patients. However, formal medical training rarely provides opportunities to learn about health equity or health advocacy, and community organizing. Thus, there is a substantial gap between the need to prepare healthcare professionals to assume roles as advocates for health equity and opportunities to get such training.

Our vision is to develop healthcare leaders across the U.S who are equipped to advocate for health equity and have the knowledge, skills, and motivation to create more equitable systems in their organizations, communities, and society.

In 2019, we launched the Health Equity Scholars Program with the following objectives: 

• Educate healthcare professionals to think deeply about the social and systemic factors that create barriers to health and challenge them to reimagine their professional responsibilities to advance social justice.

• To build the leadership capacity of early and mid-career healthcare professionals to actively advocate for under-resourced or marginalized communities across the U.S.

• To create a network of trained healthcare professionals committed to practicing community organizing and advocacy for health equity.

In the last two years, 80+ scholars have graduated from the program and implemented successful health equity initiatives within their institutions.