To deliver truly effective health care, future physicians must acquire a deep understanding of the many societal factors that influence health and drive health inequities.  Health is determined, in part, by where people live, work, learn and play.  Physicians today must possess an active understanding of these health determinants and navigate complex health-care systems.  WashU Med addresses this need by integrating community-based learning on health equity locally and globally throughout all three phases of the Gateway Curriculum.

Advocacy/Global Health Pathway

The goal of the Advocacy/Global Health Pathway within the EXPLORE component of the curriculum is to aid in the development of leadership and advocacy skills among physicians in order to improve health and health-care systems. This pathway helps prepare WashU medical students to consider the role of advocacy at multiple levels (e.g. patient, professional, community) and specify appropriate targets for intervention, including but not limited to the development of policies. This pathway emphasizes the cross pollination of strategies between local and global contexts, and fosters a culture of humility that is necessary to work effectively across the globe.

Key skills that will be honed through the Advocacy/Global Health Pathway include leadership, communicating with multiple audiences such as community members and policy makers, and community-engagement strategies that include stakeholder mapping and developing coalitions.  Within the pathway, students move sequentially through three stages of training to explore their area of interest. 

For more information on global health/international learning opportunities, see this page.