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Abstract: Background. Urban Health Project (UHP) is a mission and vision-driven summer internship at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine that places first-year medical students at local community agencies that work with underserved populations. At the completion of their internship, students write Final Intern Reflections (FIRs). Methods. Final Intern Reflections written from 1987 to 2012 were read and coded to both predetermined categories derived from the UHP mission and vision statements and new categories created from the data themselves. Results. Comments relating to UHP's mission and vision were found in 47% and 36% of FIRs, respectively. Positive experiences outweighed negative by a factor of eight. Interns reported the following benefits: educational (53%), valuable (25%), rewarding (25%), new (10%), unique (6%), and life- changing (5%). Conclusions. Urban Health Project is successful in providing medical students with enriching experiences with underserved populations that have the potential to change their understanding of vulnerable populations.
Key words: Community, medical education, social responsibility, underserved populations, urban health, vulnerable.
Historically, medical school curricula have prepared future physicians to manage health care settings by providing training in patient care, interpersonal skills, systems-based practice, and professionalism.1[p.455] However, with an increasingly diverse population, medicine also needs physicians who will translate cultural and community competencies to practice and research.2,3 Many practicing physicians today are not trained to recognize, understand, and respond to the complex health care needs of underserved populations.4,5 This has led to a health care infrastructure that is ill-equipped to provide effective health care to underserved populations in the U.S.6,7
In order to serve vulnerable populations better, medical students need a solid knowledge base on the culturally-specific needs of underserved populations. Training in socially responsible medicine and the care of underserved and vulnerable populations would enhance medical education.8,9 One way to instruct medical students about socially responsible medicine is to provide volunteer and internship experiences.10
Wanting to address the need for community-based training with underserved populations, students at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (UCCOM) established Urban Health Project (UHP) in 1986. The mission of UHP is to educate, inspire, and challenge medical students to become socially responsible physicians who have an understanding of the factors that impact health through their service to vulnerable populations in the Greater Cincinnati area....