Social Mission Metrics Initiative

2024 National Medical Self-Assessment Released

In August 2024, all U.S. based MD and DO granting institutions were invited to participate in the Social Mission Metrics Self-Assessment. The intent of this tool is to provide schools with an honest evaluation of their social mission, highlight the areas needed for improvement, and provide actionable resources that will lead to positive change. Our hope is for schools to improve their scores every year they take this assessment.

Details about the last time we provided this opportunity broadly, which included participation of over 80 medical schools, can be found below.  

As with past self-assessments, all data we receive from schools is kept strictly confidential to enhance honesty in reporting. 

Read our full press release to learn more. School leaders at MD and DO institutions are encouraged to reach out to us with questions (email metrics@socialmission.org).

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Send an email to your school’s leadership to encourage them to measure your medical school’s social mission with this self-assessment.

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2019 National Assessment

The National Social Mission Self-Assessment was aimed to give health professions school leaders an overview of the state of social mission at their schools. Following the guidance of a National Advisory Committee and field testing at over 60 schools, the National Social Mission Self-Assessment campaign was disseminated in 2019.

All dental, medical, and a sub-set of nursing schools across the United States were invited to take the survey as a form of self-assessment to examine their:

 

    1. School’s social mission status; 
    2. Current strengths and areas for improvement; and 
    3. Social mission proficiency in comparison to similar schools.

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School administrators were invited to take the self-assessment online or with a paper survey.

242 Schools participated. 133 nursing programs, 83 medical schools, 26 dental schools

A total of 242 schools participated in the survey, nearly 40% of all dental schools (26 of 66), over 40% of medical schools (83 of 203), and over 30% of nursing schools (133 of 420).

 

Map of the United States showing the geo-distribution of schools that participated in SMMI. All states are represented with the exception of Wyoming, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Hawaii, and Alaska and largest number of schools from California, New York  Illinois, Texas, and Florida.

Participating schools received a summary report detailing their school’s survey results. While individual school results are kept confidential to encourage honesty in self-reporting, aggregated data from the self-assessment provide information for a confidential data repository to develop performance measures and form a collection of best practices in the field of social mission.

A more comprehensive summary of the 2019 national survey can be found on JAMA, in Analysis of Social Mission Commitment at Dental, Medical, and Nursing Schools in the US. An example of the full survey is available in the article’s supplemental materials.

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Champion Spotlight

The Social Mission Alliance features Social Mission Champions on our social media accounts and blog. The series highlights the important work done by those who are advancing health equity and addressing the health disparities of the society in which it exists. If you’d like to be considered for a Social Mission Champion feature, complete the form below.