Integrating the Health of Socially Vulnerable Populations into Residency Programs

Abstract

In Canada, growing disparities in health disproportionally affect socially vulnerable populations. The Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada has attempted to incorporate health equity for socially vulnerable populations within the competency training objectives set forth for internal medicine (IM) residents. However, trainee exposure to these populations beyond inpatient contact in tertiary care hospitals has not traditionally been a requirement of IM training. At the University of Calgary, we have developed a four-week clinical rotation that aims to expose residents to social determinants for socially vulnerable populations.To our knowledge this is the first clinical rotation within an IM program in Canada dedicated to exposing and educating residents on the broader care of socially vulnerable populations. Our goal is to train internists and subspecialists to gain the empathy, skills, and knowledge to better provide care for socially vulnerable populations and to advocate for health equity, throughout their careers.