Diversifying Medical Education
Diversifying Medical Education while addressing health inequity: A novel partnership between Oxford Medical School and Underserved Communities
Funded by the University of Oxford Strategic Innovation Fund
Globally, neurological disease is the leading cause of disability and second highest cause of death world-wide. Vulnerable populations with suboptimal health care access are at particular risk. Oxfordshire is an exemplar community wherein disparate access to healthcare leads to adverse outcomes. 13.8 years of life separates deprived and affluent postcodes.
This project brings together clinicians, humanities and social sciences scholars and medical education specialists to explore how Oxford Medical School might better partner with local communities to tackle unmet neurological health needs within underserved communities in Oxfordshire. Oxford Medical School’s Clinical Neurosciences Department has already developed an innovative programme ‘Expert Patient Tutors’ (EPTs) where people living with chronic neurological diseases co-deliver teaching sessions, allowing students to ‘observe’ and ‘feel’ how these conditions affect them. The integration of patients’ authentic first-hand narratives is pivotal in fostering students’ communication skills and improving their ability to navigate the complexity of patient stories.
Nonetheless, further work is needed to enhance the effectiveness of the program. This project seeks to to expand the EPT program to ensure it is inclusive of - and accessible to - underserved communities in Oxfordshire. Socio-economically deprived areas are of particular risk of exclusion in medical education initiatives, consequently leading to the absence of their voices in medical education. Through this project we will be working to increase representation within the EPT program, as a means of enhancing the Medical School’s service to the local community as well as improving medical students’ cultural competency when engaging with those living with neurological conditions.
