Community Perspectives in Medicine: Elective for First-Year Medical Students

An organized way to build a student-run elective for community based organizations (CBO) to interact with medical students. It includes anti-racism, race/intersectionality and anti-oppression domains. The resource requires users to find their own CBOs, which may or may not cover all domains. The sample format is five weekly 2-hour sessions where representatives of different CBOs speak with first-year medical students. During each session, the first hour consists of a semi-structured interview of the CBO guest(s) focusing on health disparities within their community, challenges experienced with the medical system, and what they wish doctors did differently. Students are encouraged to ask questions, often resulting in a rich dialogue. The session's second part is a debriefing over dinner (without CBO guests).