A community-engaged interprofessional project led by medical students, school of social work students, and resident physicians: lessons learned and recommendations for success

Abstract

ABSTRACT Addressing health disparities through community engagement and interprofessional partnerships is increasingly critical. However, learner-led approaches that integrate medical students, resident physicians, and social work students are not well-studied. We designed a learner-led, interprofessional, public health campaign for a majority Hispanic community, with the goals of building interprofessional leadership skills, engaging learners to address COVID-19 inequities, and disseminating lessons learned. Faculty and students from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Schools of Medicine and Social Work partnered with community leaders to pilot an interprofessional project supported by the American Association of Medical Colleges’ Nurturing Experiences for Tomorrow’s Community Leaders (AAMC NEXT) Award. We describe the process of selection of a 12-member learner team of medical students, resident physicians, and social work students, and how we enacted the project from December 2020 to June 2021. Lessons learned in implementing our learner-led, community-engaged, interprofessional approach included: building interprofessional leadership skills, setting member roles and responsibilities, instilling requisite knowledge and skills, engaging with the community, and disseminating research findings. These lessons can guide other institutions seeking community-engaged interprofessional projects with learners.