Social and Health Systems 4 (SHS4) is a course for Application Phase medical students which meets monthly and provides a setting in which students can discuss aspects of the practice of medicine that they will encounter in their clinical experiences but that may not otherwise be a part of the formal curriculum in the clinical clerkships. The course is seeking new faculty members for Population Health and RICE seminars for the coming academic year (March 2022 to February 2023).
Social and Health Systems 4 (SHS4) is a course for Application Phase medical students which meets monthly on Fridays or Mondays, year-round from March to February. Each SHS4 day provides a setting in which students can reflect on and discuss aspects of the practice of medicine that they will encounter in their clinical experiences but that may not otherwise be a part of the formal curriculum in the clinical clerkships.
We are seeking new faculty members for Population Health and RICE seminars for the coming academic year (March 2022 to February 2023). Qualified candidates may be physician, social science, arts and/or chaplaincy faculty. Detailed descriptions of each component are provided below.
Please submit inquiries including current CV and paragraph about your interest in teaching (and which component you are interested in teaching) to Anna Jenkins (annabl@med.unc.edu), Amy Denham (amy_denham@med.unc.edu) and Amy Weil (amy_weil@med.unc.edu).
Daily Schedule:
9:00 am – 9:50 am: Grand Rounds
10:00 am – 11:20 am: Reflection, IPE, Communication Skills and Ethics (RICE) seminar
1:00 pm – 2:20 pm: Application of Principles of Population Health to Clinical Care
Application of Principles of Population Health to Clinical Care
The population health seminar series will focus on critical appraisal of the medical literature and an exploration of key concepts in population health, such as health insurance and healthcare financing, patient safety, social determinants of health, and health disparities. The students will meet in groups of approximately 13 students, together with a clinical faculty mentor with expertise in population health. Each session will open with a student-led journal club presentation, during which a student will present an original research article that addresses clinical question they have encountered on their current clinical rotation. The remainder of the session will be a facilitated discussion on the population health topic of the month.
Critical Reflection, Inter-professional Education (IPE), Advanced Communication Skills and Ethics (RICE)
RICE will be taught in small group sections, each consisting of approximately twelve students, with a clinical faculty mentor and a social sciences/humanities/ethics mentor. It will focus on enhancing skill and inquiry in 4 key areas: (1) Critical Reflection, (2) IPE, (3) Advanced Communication Skills, and (4) Ethics.
(Critical) Reflection: Students have a crucial opportunity to pause in the midst of busy clinical routines to notice their experience of the reality of caring for patients, examining and interpreting their reactions to particular encounters and developing a professional identity that is resonant with their ideals. A variety of media (short writing prompts centered on clinical experience, exposure to performance and art) will be employed.
Inter professional learning and practice: Students have the opportunity to engage in discussion with trainees from other professions who care for patients in our complex health system — nursing, pharmacy, social work, chaplaincy, allied health, and more—so they can learn from and appreciate their contributions to patient care and work together at the highest levels of everyone’s training.
(Advanced) Communication skills: Students will learn and practice specific advanced communication skills, particularly around end-of-life issues, transitions of care, shared decision making, working with trauma-exposed individuals, motivating patients to change behaviors they wish to change, and serving as advocates within the hierarchy of medicine.
Ethics: Students will apply methods of ethical analysis and decision making to situations from their clinical work. Students will gain confidence in identifying and describing ethical concerns, develop frameworks for ethical decision making, and learn to appreciate the value of continuing ethical uncertainty and debate.