The need for relevant and responsive health-care that improves people’s health outcomes means that medical schools need to be accountable for what and how they teach. Medical schools are responsible for training health practitioners who can help improve the health of individuals and societies.
A social accountability mandate Medical schools need to listen to communities and respond to their needs. Having a social accountability mandate suggests medical schools are responsible for building a workforce of practitioners who are willing and capable of advocating on behalf of patients, families and communities to address the factors that affect their quality of life.
Students participate in structured and unstructured learning activities ranging from community placements to volunteering. These activities positively influence students’ attitudes towards community members, knowledge of community priorities and also their future career trajectories.
Authentic community engagement equips students and faculty to advocate on behalf of communities within their schools. This creates an opportunity for medical schools to learn about the inequities and social justice issues that face different communities, and proactively address them. 3. Building capacities of faculty: Schools must revisit current tenure-track criteria to reflect the value of meaningful community-based research. This can encourage more faculty to take up longer projects embedded in communities that can result in positive outcomes.
Benefits of working with a database Benefits of working with a central database of all ongoing and past community partnerships in a medical school include: