Beyond Flexner Alliance Spring 2022 Newsletter
After two years of living in a virtual community, we are pleased to have been able to convene in person during the 2022 Beyond Flexner Conference, co-hosted by AT Still University and Arizona State University Edson College of Nursing, in Phoenix, Arizona. We are grateful for all of our sponsors and attendees — both in person and virtual. We could not have made the conference a success without this vibrant community of passionate leaders!
This year’s conference marked a number with milestones for advancing social mission — in total, we had 465 attendees which surpassed the attendance at our 2015 Albuquerque Conference and we had attendees from 39 out of the 50 states and 12 countries! Additionally, with our Inaugural Social Mission Scholars Program, we were able to support nearly 30 student change agents who are transforming their communities. The conference not only provided a space to gather and discuss how the pandemic has shaped the future of health workforce and equity, but also provided a space to vision and dream together. We were able to leave Phoenix with meaningful partnerships and collaborations to advance social mission as a community.
This newsletter highlights key moments from the conference and provides a way for us all to continue the discussions and efforts in our own institutions. To better support our community in the advancement of social mission, we are looking for feedback on how our growing organization can continue to convene our audience and supports their collective social mission work. Building off of the momentum from the Conference, in the coming weeks, we also aim to create an online Slack platform to keep the community connected. We look eagerly to the future as we grow the social mission movement with you!
In solidarity,
The Beyond Flexner Alliance Team
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2022 BFA Conference Highlights
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Who attended #BeyondFlexnerPHX2022?
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We had attendees from 39 out of the 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico!
We also had attendees from 12 countries including Barbados, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Antilles, Nigeria, Peru, Trinidad + Tobago, and the United Kingdon!
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Corbin’s Legacy Event Highlights
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On the evening of Tuesday, March 29th, there was an Integrated Interprofessional Community Outreach session held at Emerson Elementary School in Mesa, Arizona which was led by Corbin’s Legacy and sponsored by CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. With support and volunteers from A. T. Still University, 400 families were able to receive oral health screenings, medical screenings, dinner at the event, and groceries to take home. There were also oral care gift bags and t-shirts from Colgate Bright Smiles Bright Futures for participants. Over $1000 in donations from conference attendees collected during the 2021 Virtual and 2022 conferences will go to Corbin’s Legacy as our selected community partner for their ongoing work. Feedback from the families on the event was overwhelmingly positive since so many have gone without health screenings during the pandemic and in many cases with food insecurity for their families. It was wonderful for us to see the impact strong community partners can have as part of our conference.
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What’s next for the vision of Social Mission? Takeaways from the Conference Town Hall
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On the Wednesday, March 30th, a community town hall event was hosted by Toyese Oyeyemi Jr., the Director of the Beyond Flexner Alliance. The Wordclouds depicted below capture atteendees’ feedback to the discussion questions posed.
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Imagine the transformed health profession instituion of the future. What outdated practice/policy/philosophy needs to be left behind?
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What does 21st century American health professions school look like to you?
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Top 5 Answers:
Diverse
Community-led/community-engaged
Inclusive
Interdisciplinary
Accessible
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BFA Student Assembly Social Mission Scholarship
As a result of a generous sponsorship from the DentaQuest Foundation, the Beyond Flexner Alliance’s Social Mission Scholarship was an inaugural effort created to identify and support change agents who are transforming their communities toward social mission. These scholarships were awarded to prospective attendees for the 2022 Beyond Flexner Conference held in Phoenix, AZ. Awardees were students, residents, and community members with financial need who demonstrated deep commitment to the values of social mission. Scholarship funds were used to cover the costs of 1) conference registration or 2) hotel accommodation.
2022 Social Mission Scholars:
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Caleb Atkins* Jonas Attilus* Taussia Boadi* Kiran Buthada Alec Calac* Jose Manuel Carrillo-Castro Molly Charney Cody Davis Lydia Deaton Caitlin Esparza* Aurora Ford Olivia Giola Samuel Gonzalez Garcia Rohan Khazanchi*
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Caryssa Lim* Russyan Mabeza* Margaret McGrath Haley Oura Adriana Pero* Alyssa Rivera* Stephanie Santo Natalia Shringarpure* Zay Smolar* Allie Stender Kailee Taylor Pooja Vyas* Emily Xu Makeen Yasar*
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*Individual was awarded the Distinguished Social Mission Scholarship. These individuals have shown exceptional leadership in advancing social mission at their respective institutions and throughout their professional journey.
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What’s next in advancing social mission?
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Join our Online Community!
Follow @BeyondFlexner on Twitter and @beyondflexneralliance on Instagram to keep up with the latest happenings of the social mission movement. In the coming weeks, we will be hosting Twitterspace events and creating a Slack Channel in order to continue the discussions from the Beyond Flexner Conference and grow a virtual forum of discussion amongst scholars and leaders passionate about social mission.
We’d like to hear from you!
After our recent Beyond Flexner Alliance (BFA) Conference in Phoenix, AZ, co-hosted by AT Still University and Arizona State University Edson College of Nursing, we are looking for your feedback on how our growing organization can continue to convene our audience and supports their collective social mission work. Completion of the entire survey will enter you into a draw for a special BFA prize! The survey should take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete. The survey will close on Friday, April 29 at 11.59pm PST. Thank you in advance! Note: This is not the Continuing Education (CE) survey. The CE survey will be sent out at a later date. This survey is to get participant feedback on the overall experience at the Conference and to help inform future BFA initiatives.
Apply for the BFA Summer Internship Program
The Beyond Flexner Alliance (BFA) is seeking two (2) summer interns who will work part-time with the Beyond Flexner Alliance Student Assembly & Communications Programs to support the work of innovating and disrupting health professions education to advance social mission. Interns should be trainees (undergraduate, graduate-level) who are passionate about improving health care and health systems to be more just, fair, and equitable. The internship will be virtual and all work and meetings will be held virtually. For more information about the application process, please contact Dr. Isabel Chen at isabelchenmd@gmail.com.
Apply for the new Vot-ER Microgrants
Vot-ER is collaborating with the National Association of Community Health Centers to help clinics offer non-disruptive, culturally relevant voter registration to their patients. Participating clinics can receive free voter education materials, training, and up to $5,000 in funding. Applications for the Community Civic Engagement Program are due on May 16th. Learn more at vot-er.org/ccep.
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