Social missions in medical education

INCREASINGLY, EXCELLENCE in medical education is being linked to the notion of usefulness and impact and making the greatest possible difference on people’s health. This expanded scope embraces a social accountability or social missions approach and calls for the inclusion of the community as true partners. The intent is to foster a deeper understanding of disease occurrence within the context of social determinants or the system and structures, impacting health in the broadest sense.

The World Health Organization defines social accountability of medical schools as: ‘the obligation to direct their education, research, and service activities toward addressing the priority health concerns of the community, the region, or nation they have a mandate to serve’.

After 70 years of operation, the medical school at the University of the West Indies, Mona remains at the forefront of crafting and renewing a socially accountable agenda for its students and graduates. For the medical student, this can be seen as enriching the experience of becoming a doctor and creating a more exhaustive understanding of the role of the physician. Taking on a social missions agenda has the potential to provide medical schools with a quantum leap in relevance. This engagement will allow for ways to address the impact of economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems on health outcomes.

‘The World Health Organization defines social accountability of medical schools as: ‘the obligation to direct their education, research, and service activities toward addressing the priority health concerns of the community, the region, or nation they have a mandate to serve’.’