Social Mission Resource Library

Find peer reviewed articles, implementation tools, and real world examples of social mission in practice at institutions and programs across the United States. The Social Mission Resource Library continues to grow, so check back often! If you have suggestions for resources to add, please submit them here.

You can search for Social Mission resources based on Activity Area, Topic, or both. Social Mission Action Areas reflect core operations and functions of health professions education institutions and programs that can be targeted for action to advance equity. Use this search filter if you are interested in resources describing actions, interventions, and inputs. The Social Mission Resource Library Action Areas are:  

Admissions & Recruitment This Action Area includes but is not limited to Alternative Metrics/Holistic Admissions, Pipeline & Pathway Programs, Targeted Recruitment Strategies, and Financial Support

Educational Programming This Action Area includes but is not limited to Incorporation of Health Equity Principles, Interprofessional Education, Community-based Learning, and Anti-racist Curricula

Institutional Culture This Action Area includes but is not limited to Governance & Policy, DEI Training, Faculty & Leadership Diversity, and Mentorship

Community Engagement This Action Area includes but is not limited to Community Needs Assessment, Community Partnerships, and Community Representation in Health Professions Education

Advocacy & Activism This Action Area includes but is not limited to Advocacy Training for Students and Faculty and External Advocacy Efforts

Measurement & Assessment This Action Area includes efforts to measure, assess, or evaluate institutional performance related to social mission

You can search for Social Mission resources based on Activity Area, Topic, or both. Social Mission Topics can be thought of as goals or outcome areas. Use this filter to see resources displayed based on outcome(s) of interest. Social Mission Topics are: 

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Diversity and representation of underrepresented groups among learners, faculty, and leadership across; The perceptions, attitudes, and expectations that define an institution, particularly as seen from the perspectives of individuals who are underrepresented based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, mental and physical ability, or other dimensions of diversity; Policies and governance structures that institutionalize social mission. 

Practice in underserved areas or settings Learners and providers servicing rural or underserved communities/facilities

Specialty choice Learners and providers practicing in high need specialty areas, especially primary care

Health equity champions Learners, practitioners, faculty, and administrators having the knowledge, competencies, attitudes, skills, and/or intent to address health inequities  

Community partnerships Programs and policies that address community inequities via external partnerships and practices

Patient & Community health Effects of health professions education on health outcomes at the patient, community, or population level

  • Resource Type

  • Social Mission Action Area

  • Social Mission Topic

  • Health Profession

Real World Examples
  Open Access  

Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA)

  • Social Mission Action Areas: Admissions & Recruitment, Advocacy & Activism, Community Engagement
  • Strategies: Community Partnerships
  • Health Profession: Medicine
APAMSA is an organization for Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian medical and pre-medical students
Real World Examples
  Open Access  

Santa Fe Community College Department of Nursing

  • Social Mission Alliance
  • Social Mission Action Areas: Admissions & Recruitment, Institutional Culture
  • Health Profession: Nursing
The school partnered with Capital High School, which is also predominantly Hispanic and low-income, to establish a pathway for high school students to become Licensed Practical Nurses and later earn an associate’s degree in nursing. The LPN program has a 100% pass rate.
Real World Examples
  Open Access  

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

  • Social Mission Alliance
  • Social Mission Action Areas: Community Engagement
  • Strategies: Explicit Commitment
  • Health Profession: Medicine
CDU educates medical students through a joint program with UCLA and now a standalone four-year MD program. The university explicitly names diversity and serving marginalized populations among its values.
Real World Examples
  Open Access  

Oklahoma State University

  • Social Mission Alliance
  • Social Mission Action Areas: Admissions & Recruitment
  • Health Profession: Medicine
Oklahoma State’s College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Cherokee Nation is said to be the only medical school on a Native American reservation
Social Mission Alliance case studies
  Open Access  

Florida International University

  • Social Mission Alliance
  • Social Mission Action Areas: Admissions & Recruitment, Advocacy & Activism, Community Engagement, Curriculum & Programming, Institutional Culture
  • Strategies: Community Based Learning, Creation and Support, Explicit Commitment, Pathway Programs
  • Health Profession: Medicine
The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at FIU, a Hispanic-serving institution, explicitly incorporates diversity and social accountability in its mission statement. It is the second most diverse medical school in the United States
Real World Examples
  Open Access  

University of California San Francisco

  • Social Mission Alliance
  • Social Mission Action Areas: Admissions & Recruitment, Advocacy & Activism, Community Engagement, Curriculum & Programming, Institutional Culture
  • Strategies: Anti Racist Curriculum, Creation and Support, URM Faculty/Staff Encouragement
  • Health Profession: Medicine
The UCSF School of Medicine shows a commitment to community health and the larger social mission. The MD curriculum includes the “UCSF 49,” which are the most common diseases and syndromes in the Bay Area, and students are able to pursue clerkships in the community.
Real World Examples
  Open Access  

Morehouse School of Medicine

  • Social Mission Alliance
  • Social Mission Action Areas: Admissions & Recruitment, Community Engagement, Curriculum & Programming
  • Strategies: Pathway Programs, Practice Outcome
  • Health Profession: Medicine
Morehouse College is a historically Black university that describes itself as committed to diversity. Community health is embedded into the MD curriculum. About 70% of graduates of the School of Medicine go into primary care, and students receive rural health training at the Columbus location.
Real World Examples
  Open Access  

University of California Davis

  • Social Mission Action Areas: Admissions & Recruitment, Advocacy & Activism, Community Engagement, Curriculum & Programming, Institutional Culture
  • Strategies: Alternate Admissions Metrics, Community Based Learning, Pathway Programs
  • Health Profession: Medicine
UC Davis’s medical school became the third most diverse in the country by establishing programs for students who wanted to work in underserved communities, such as the Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care program, prioritizing socioeconomically disadvantaged students in admissions and providing them with scholarships, developing pathways for community college students and pairing incoming students with like-minded peers and faculty.

Suggestions

Let us know of your suggested social mission resources that you think should be included in our resource library.

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