Dr. Beverley Sheares and Dr. Doug Shenson, co-leaders of the Health Equity Thread (HET), are continuing to develop new and enhanced curricula that address the needs of patients from a diverse range of backgrounds. Below are examples of work being done to prepare you to care for patients from different backgrounds.
- The HET convened an Advisory Group in November 2022, to help prioritize health equity content, assure an effective process that introduces and integrates new material into existing courses, and helps drive change in the curriculum. The group currently has 13 members including faculty, students, and YSM educational leadership, and meets monthly. The HET Advisory Group also has representation from the New Haven community.
- An introduction to the Health Equity Thread, exploring health and well-being data for New Haven, and a discussion of the pedagogical framework for health equity education were the focus of a presentation by Drs. Sheares and Shenson during this year’s Ipro. Both HET leaders also led small group workshops where the book Fatal Invention was discussed.
- In January 2023, a simulated patient workshop on gender expansive care developed by YMS students and faculty was deployed in pilot form. The goal of this initiative is to expand this workshop into the curriculum so that all students will be able to participate and learn how to conduct a medical history from patients who represent a spectrum of gender expression. The expected roll out is 2024.
- The HET partnered with Dr. Aba Black, who led the first Precede for clerkship students this year in a session titled “Bias in Healthcare: Complex Interactions in Clinical Care and Championing Health Equity.” During the session, Drs. Black and Shenson engaged the students in case studies and small group interactive workshops.
- Also in March, the HET presented a faculty panel in the Capstone course, which was designed to provide the graduating class with an exploration of health equity priorities and challenges in selected specialty and subspecialty fields of clinical work and research.
- A simulated participant clinical encounter including the use of an interpreter was added to the Capstone course in March.
- In May, Dr. Sheares produced a video focused on the use of race in medical education. The video is being provided to faculty in the pre-clerkship courses.
- July’s Precede session focused on Black maternal mortality using clips from the award-winning documentary Aftershock as the focus for discussion. A group of faculty members led small group discussions.
Finally, I encourage you to watch Dr. Sheares’ MSC Perspectives session from December, outlining some of the accomplishments of the HET to date.
The HET team welcomes your suggestions and feedback. You can join their virtual office hours on Thursdays, from 1-3:30 p.m. Please email the health equity team at health-equity-thread@yale.edu for an appointment.
Jessica Illuzzi, MD, MS
Deputy Dean for Education
Harold W. Jockers Professor of Medical Education