Health Disparities Curriculum

Diversity is one of the core values of our internal medicine residency program. Mississippi is a diverse state, with 58% of the population white, 38% black, and 3% Hispanic or Latino. In addition to numerous institution-wide offerings from UMMC’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, our residency program began a focused, dedicated health disparities curriculum for all residents in 2018. This curriculum serves to educate our residents about the many health disparities that exist in our state and country, social determinants of health, implicit bias, advocacy opportunities, and provide resources to aid the underserved. Recent sessions included a didactic focused on the basic understanding of insurers/payer mixes, a small group session regarding COVID-19 disparities in Mississippi and nationwide, cultural competency, and care of the transgender patient. Additionally, UMMC is one of 32 training programs around the country to receive grant funding focused on building trust between physicians and patients and eliminating bias in primary care. This curriculum is ongoing and consists of a partnership between UMMC and Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, Mississippi.

All of our residents volunteer at the Jackson Free Clinic, a not-for-profit, student-run clinic in the heart of Jackson which provides 100% free medical, dental, and psychiatric care to the city’s most vulnerable citizens.