Leaders for Local Change: Addressing Health Disparities through Resident Empowerment

We have developed a track focused on community health and engagement. This is a longitudinal certificate program to study and gain a deeper understanding into existing health disparities and inequities in our community and to provide opportunities for trainees to enact effective and sustainable community change.  This track has four components.

Part I
Monthly educational sessions led by content experts.  1-2 hours of preparation (e.g. reading articles and book chapters, watching documentaries…) is expected prior to each session.  Educational sessions are open to residents not participating in the track.  The curriculum will address a rotation of the following topics yearly:

  • Structural violence
  • Immigrant health
  • Disability justice
  • LGBTQ health
  • Opioid use disorder
  • Reproductive justice/Women’s health
  • Mental healthcare
  • Disaster healthcare

Part II
Complete medication-assisted therapy waiver training, asylum medical evaluation training, and bias reduction in internal medicine workshops.  Participation in a legislative policy brief via the LEAD elective is highly encouraged.

Find your passion via community engagement (e.g. working with street medicine, student-rum clinics, Chicago Public Schools, prison health, fair housing initiatives, asylum health evaluations…)

Part III-IV
Finding a mentor and initiating and developing a sustainable community engagement initiative and presenting your project pitfalls, triumphs, and findings at MedPeds Grand Rounds.

Track Directors:
Michael Charles, MD (MedPeds)
Ana Mauro, MD (MedPeds)

Medical Education Track Description

The Medical Education Track is intended for residents interested in pursuing academic and MedEd careers. Our goals are to:

  • Introduce MedEd theories and teaching strategies that are applicable to the unique position of residents-as-teachers
  • Improve teaching skills through observed teaching sessions and individualized feedback
  • Expand MedEd opportunities available to residents by providing protected time to develop teaching skills and to participate in mentored longitudinal MedEd projects
  • Provide individualized mentorship to residents who plan on incorporating MedEd as a component of their future careers

Eligibility and Application:

  • Application due March 1st
  • Applications will be limited to:
    • 1st year residents in Peds or IM
    • 1st or 2nd year residents in MedPeds

Track Components:

  • Required Rotation:
    • Minimum 2 weeks MedEd teaching elective (once during residency)
      • To coincide with weeklong “Transition to Residency” (TTR) program for medical students in Spring 2022
        • Attend mini lecture series
      • Protected time to work on longitudinal project
      • Optional additional 2 weeks for longitudinal project or to participate in TTR a second time
  • Required Scholarly Activities:
    • Attend monthly conference series (min 75% attendance)
    • Participate in yearly MedEd OSTE (Objective Structured Teaching Examination/Exercise)
    • Present on a MedEd topic of your choice (minimum once/year) during:
      • MedEd track conferences
      • Categorical morning/noon conferences
      • Intern Orientation
      • Rising Senior Meeting
    • Work with faculty mentor to complete longitudinal project in MedEd
      • Goal to submit abstract to regional/national conference, present scholarly work at research symposium, publishing an article on a MedEd blog or MedEd portal
    • Participate in at least 3 additional teaching opportunities throughout the course of residency, including but not limited to:
      • M2 Simulation sessions (tentatively winter, spring)
      • Peds Clerkship Simulation sessions (tentatively year-round)
      • Transition to Clerkship for rising M3s (tentatively April)
      • Clinical Intersections for M3s (tentatively July-December)
      • Newborn Workshop (tentatively March-June)
      • Introduction to Clinical Medicine
      • Mentor’s Program (teach med students how write/present case reports)
    • Semiannual individual progress meetings with track director

Upon track completion participants will receive a certificate of completion.

Track Directors: 
Kelsie Avants, DO (MedPeds)
Jenna Schulte, MD (MedPeds)

Global Health Track

The UIC Global Community Health Track is a unique opportunity for resident physicians to expand their perspective on disparity both locally and globally.  Through the UIC Center for Global Health, residents can choose to apply to one of two graduate-training certificate programs designed to enhance residents’ global health competencies, foster mentorship, and provide formalized education.  Further track details can be found at the Graduate Global Health Program website.