Reducing health disparities through public health training of medical students: The "bridges to equity" program

Training medical students to integrate a public health approach through interprofessional learning activities will provide a solution to reducing health care disparities. A program has been developed using a novel approach to engage medical students in collaborating with public health students and faculty on community-based projects to reduce health disparities. This project will expand the existing integrated population health educational program curriculum in all years of medical school training; provide opportunities for public health and medical students to work collaboratively on projects designed to reduce healthcare disparities; and, modify and enhance the scope and sequence of the MD/MPH degree to emphasize healthcare equity. During the initial implementation phase, the core team of primary care specialists, medical educators and public health program specialists collaborated to develop an educational model to train medical students in population-centered medicine. A multidisciplinary advisory board and community partner group identified community needs for student service projects and training activities. This project serves as a model for providing public health training for medical students with a special emphasis on identifying and reducing health disparities. The curriculum and methods used by this program create a basis by which interdisciplinary training in public health can enhance medical education and impact health disparities. The results of the Bridges to Equity project have the potential to improve student communication skills with diverse patient populations, advance team-based individual and population-centered care, increase primary care physician training in public health and reduce overall healthcare disparities.