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Medical students plunge into health disparities in underserved communities

Orientation program helps 1st-year students understand how inequities impact patients

September 7, 2017

Huy Mach, Gaia Remerowski

Bob Hansman, Washington University associate professor of architecture, talks to first-year medical students about the racial and social histories of a St. Louis neighborhood and their impact on residents' lives. Before the university's medical students begin classes, they participate in a program aimed at exposing them to health inequities so they will be better informed and more compassionate doctors. Watch the video to see some of what the students experience.

Before each new crop of medical students begins classes, the students participate in the Washington University Medical Plunge (WUMP). This week-long orientation program provides first-year students with an overview of the health-care and public-health landscape in St. Louis through lectures, site visits and service projects.

Students also take part in a bus tour of underserved communities, home to many patients these future doctors soon will see and help. The experience aims to expose students to health inequities and foster a better understanding of the social issues that affect many patients’ health and health-care access.

For more information about WUMP, visit the Office of Diversity Programs’ website.