Eight rising second-year medical students have been selected for the second class of the UAB School of Medicine’s Health Equity Scholars Program. Created in 2017, the program’s goal is to develop physician leaders with the knowledge and skills to promote healthy equity for medically underserved communities.
The 2018 Heath Equity Scholars are:
Jessica Adams
Alana Jones
Courtney Rentas
Sydney Sheppard
Sylvie Sontheimer
Emma Thompson
Dusty Trotman
Maggie Williams
“This new class of Health Equity Scholars have incredibly diverse backgrounds and experiences—from working as a pharmacy tech in rural Alabama to being a trained birth partner to starting a reading program for middle school girls,” said Caroline N. Harada, M.D., assistant dean for community engaged scholarship. “We are inspired by their work and eager to help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to pursue careers caring for and advocating for underserved populations.”
The Health Equity Scholars Program will help students develop expertise in the social determinants of health and health disparities through five different components: curricular study, extracurricular service work, a scholarly project, teaching other students during their fourth year of medical school, and attending three different training events.