THE COURSE
The US Health Justice Course is an elective consisting of weekly seminars that aim to teach health professions students about health inequities that manifest as a result of social marginalization and structural inequalities along with how to address them as future providers. The course also includes community outings guided by New Haven community leaders and reflection sessions guided by experts from across Yale University. Yale health professions students, including medical, nursing, and physician associate students, are eligible to take the course.
The course was founded by medical students, Tehreem Rehman and Robert Rock, with the support of Course director, Doug Olson, MD, Course coordinator, Yale School of Public Health student Belinda Wu, and psychiatry residents Kali Cyrus, MD, MPH & Roberto Montenegro MD, PhD. The Course was made possible through the generous funding of the Office of International Medical Student Education, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Equity Research & Innovation Center.
If you are a Yale medical, nursing, or physician associate student and are interested in taking this course, contact us for more information.
THE CURRICULUM
Download "Advocating for Greater Exposure to Domestic Health Disparities in Medical Education," an article published in the American Medical Student Research Journal in 2015 for more detailed information about the Course's curriculum. To request a version of the curriculum developed by this course, send the USHJ team a message.
THE COMRADES
HISTORY
The U.S. Health Justice Course at Yale was started by two medical students in 2014. With a commitment to domestic health equity prior to attending medical school, the students began to recognize a dearth of exposure to issues of
domestic health equity in the curriculum during their first year. After reflecting for several months, they decided to create a program focused on social medicine and health
advocacy to fill the perceived void.
With support from Yale faculty and New Haven community leaders, they created a pilot course on U.S. Health Justice that focused on inter-professional training and the notion of social responsibility in future health care providers.
By 2015, the Course had a waiting list, and there was a desire to expand opportunities at Yale health professional schools to discuss and deepen understanding about health justice. The student group now known as the USHJ Collaborative was created to meet this goal.
The USHJ Course and Collaborative are separate but partner entities, working towards the same goals through different activities.