​Social Mission: Voices for Change Fellowship

The UC Davis Center for a Diverse Healthcare Workforce (CDHW) and the Beyond Flexner Alliance (BFA) recently launched a new Social Mission: Voices for Change Fellowship program.

About the Fellowship

The UC Davis Center for a Diverse Healthcare Workforce (CDHW) and the Beyond Flexner Alliance (BFA) recently launched a new Social Mission: Voices for Change Fellowship program. 

The fellowship was designed to provide interprofessional students (currently in pre-health programs, health professions school or residency) and early-career professionals (within 2 years post training) with a unique opportunity to:​ Learn about social mission advocacy, with a focus on diversity Participate in the OpEd Project’s “Write to Change the World” four-part workshop series Develop an op-ed for submission Create a community of like-minded, social mission driven individuals Social mission advocates learned to use their voice via various mediums to advance health equity and create meaningful change. The virtual fellowship culminated with the opportunity to submit a social mission or social justice op-ed for publication and become part of the Beyond Flexner Alliance community.

Kimberly Hernandez, a recent Voices for Change Fellow, published “Protect Mothers and They Will Stimulate the Economy: A Case for Federal Paid Family Leave”. About Social Mission: The social mission of a health professions school is the contribution of its graduates, faculty, and leadership to enhancing health equity and to addressing the health disparities of society. Social mission plays a critical role in health professions education by incorporating principles of social justice and social accountability to advance health equity, increase diversity of the health workforce and train culturally congruent providers.

About the UC Davis Center for a Diverse Healthcare Workforce (UC Davis CDHW):

The mission of the UC Davis CDHW is to advance research and best practices regarding recruitment, training, and retention of a diverse healthcare workforce. The team of faculty, staff and students is conducting research to understand the impact of healthcare workforce diversity on patients, communities and populations. The UC Davis CDHW and this project are supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of an award totaling $3,791,026 with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. ​

About the Beyond Flexner Alliance

The Beyond Flexner Alliance (BFA) is a national movement and organization, focused on health equity and training health professionals as agents of more equitable health care. The BFA aims to promote social mission by networking learners, teachers, community leaders, health policy makers and their organizations to advance equity in education, research, service, policy, and practice.

About the OpEd Project

The OpEd Project’s mission is to change who writes history. The programs and curriculum are about leadership, voice, and power. They challenge participants to think in new and bigger ways about what participants know, why it matters, and how to use it. OpEd project explores the source of credibility; the patterns and elements of persuasion; the difference between being “right” and being effective; how to preach beyond the choir; and how to think bigger about what you know—to have more impact in the world. Op-eds are used as an action step, but the framework and curriculum can apply to any place where someone seeks to have an impact in the world – at their university or institution, in business, in political office, and beyond. ​

This project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $3,791,026 with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.