Social Mission and Interprofessionalism

The Social Mission Metrics Self-Assessment is a national survey that allows dental, medical, and nursing school leaders to measure their school’s social mission. Social mission is the “contribution of a school in its mission, programs, and the performance of its graduates, faculty and leadership in advancing health equity and addressing the health disparities of the society in which it exists,” as defined by the Beyond Flexner Alliance. The George Washington University Health Workforce Institute (GWHWI) designed the set of measures to be used as a standardized approach to identify the level of engagement of health professions schools social mission activities, track them over time, and allow a school to compare its performance to similar schools and national norms. All U.S. dental, medical and a sample of approximately 400 nursing (bachelors and masters) schools have been invited to participate.

Our work is premised on the core belief that empowering health professions schools with a tool to measure social mission will lead to stronger educational outcomes and, ultimately, better health for all. This survey represents a way for health professions educators to present their accomplishments and activities tailored to the communities they serve. The survey encompasses and brings attention to many of the challenges for the three disciplines including the shortage of primary care, community outreach, minority health and representation, and diversity issues in the health workforce. The speaker will provide an overview of the study, discuss the six domains and eighteen activity areas of the survey, describe some of the aggregated data, and introduce the audience to the Beyond Flexner Alliance. This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration, no. 6 U81HP26493-04-03, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, nos. 73271, 74365 and 75161.