Social Justice Community of Service and Scholarship

Information for each academic year is available in August. For more information and application details, contact cslfomd@ualberta.ca.

Overview

Participation in this Community is open to Year 1 students. Participating Year 1 students may choose to continue into the Year 2 program.

Building on the successful Community Service-Learning Program that was implemented in 2016, the Social Justice Community of Service and Scholarship (SJ CoSS) is an opportunity for medical students to:

  • explore issues of social justice, health equity, power and privilege, and other related areas more deeply
  • interact with people from underserved and excluded communities
  • partner with a community agency or organization serving these communities

SJ CoSS is based on the community service learning principles of theory, service, and reflection. It collaborates with the University Community Service Learning Unit to maintain and expand partnerships with community agencies.

Participants in the Community will identify agencies that they would like to be partnered with from an annual list. Program leads will attempt to match students with an agency in their top three choices.

Students engage with the liaison at the community agency to discuss the identified areas of need for the agency and the population it serves, and agree on an initiative for the students to undertake with the agency. Through these community placements, students will explore health and social issues faced by populations experiencing health inequities in the community.

Objectives

The SJ CoSS objectives are that students will:

  • deepen their understanding of social justice and health equity to better serve our communities
  • develop an asset-based approach to community engagement
  • contribute to meeting the social accountability mandate of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry

Specific goals for SJ CoSS:

  • Apply the social determinants of health in the context of the population served by the agency with whom you’re working.
  • Assess the role, responsibilities, and limitations of the medical student working with community organizations.
  • Negotiate a common goal and develop a structured experience in collaboration with the community agency to address a need or challenge faced by the population served.
  • Understand advocacy principles and, where appropriate, apply them in the student’s work with the agency.
  • Identify enablers and barriers to health equity and social justice in the context of the population served by the community agency.
  • Incorporate the three intertwining principles of community service learning — theory, service, and reflection — into its activities.