Teaching Health Equity in the Time of COVID-19: a Virtual Look Through the Lens of Structural Racism

Introduction In the context of marked health disparities affecting historically marginalized communities, medical schools have an obligation to rapidly scale up COVID-19 education through the lens of structural racism. Aim To develop and implement a virtual curriculum on structural racism in a required COVID-19 course for medical students using just-in-time training. Setting Academic medical institution during the height of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020. Participants Three hundred ninety-three 3(rd) and 4(th)-year medical students prior to re-entry into clinical care. Program Description Three educational sessions focused on (1) racial health disparities, (2) othering and pandemics, and (3) frameworks to address health inequity. The virtual teaching methods included narrated recorded presentations, reflections, and student-facilitated small group dialogue. Program Evaluation In matched pre- and post-surveys, participants reported significant changes in their confidence in achieving the learning objectives and high satisfaction with small group peer facilitation. Discussion The use of just-in-time training exploring the intersection between COVID-19 and structural racism facilitated the delivery of time-relevant and immediately clinically applicable content as students were preparing to re-enter a transformed clinical space. Similar approaches can be employed to adapt to changing healthcare landscapes as academic medical centers strive to build more equitable health systems.

Automated summary

This study aims to rapidly scale up COVID-19 education for medical students through the lens of structural racism, by developing and implementing a virtual curriculum using just-in-time training. The program was evaluated and showed significant changes in participants' confidence in achieving learning objectives. The use of just-in-time training provided time-relevant and immediately clinically applicable content for students preparing to re-enter clinical care.