Training socially accountable clinician-citizens: integrating clinical public health education in a medical school curriculum

Authors

Kofi Essel, Department of Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
Hana Akselrod, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
Sonal Batra, Department of Emergency Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
Candice Dawes, Department of Pediatrics, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
Zareen Zaidi, Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.
Lawrence Deyton, Department of Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

12-1-2025

Journal

Medical education online

Volume

30

Issue

1

DOI

10.1080/10872981.2025.2469972

Keywords

Clinical public health education; community health engagement; curriculum innovation in medical training; population health initiatives; social accountability in medical education

Abstract

By adopting a holistic perspective that looks 'upstream' at the underlying determinants of health, physicians can develop more effective strategies for promoting wellness and reducing health inequities in an increasingly diverse and complex society. Public health focuses on disease prevention and promotion of health through organized efforts by individuals and society. Population health focuses on the health outcomes of a group of individuals. We designed the Clinical Public Health curriculum, a pedagogical framework designed at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences that breaks down traditional silos between didactic public and population health teaching, patient care and community engagement for medical students. It aims to train socially accountable clinician-citizens through an integrated, longitudinal curriculum across the four years of medical school. In this article we describe one aspect of the curriculum - four self-contained 'summits' - which can be used as a template for others seeking to develop a curriculum focusing on social accountability and engagement with community and governmental partners. During these multi-day applied educational experiences, medical students engage with key stakeholders, community members, community-based organizations, and state and national agencies to develop innovative approaches to engage in advocacy and population health. Enhanced medical school curricula focusing on the development of socially accountable clinician-citizens is an urgent need to develop more meaningful clinical-community interventions, support professional development, put context on the impact of health-related social needs on patients and families, and transform healthcare delivery and policy through greater community connection and advocacy.

APA Citation

Essel, Kofi; Akselrod, Hana; Batra, Sonal; Dawes, Candice; Zaidi, Zareen; and Deyton, Lawrence, "Training socially accountable clinician-citizens: integrating clinical public health education in a medical school curriculum" (2025). GW Authored Works. Paper 6503.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/6503

Department

Pediatrics