Baystate's Community Faculty—a diverse group of community members who have undergone professional development to educate medical students—were honored for their contributions to the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health (PURCH) track at a celebration at the UMass Medical School Baystate campus in Springfield.
(Photo at right: Senior Associate Dean of Education, Dr. Kevin Hinchey, shakes the hand of community faculty member Khali Maddox-Abdegeo.)
Community faculty members were acknowledged by PURCH students, medical school faculty, and deans for their wealth of knowledge and experience, offering medical students "the opportunity to learn from the folks who have that lived experience," said Justin Ayala, Program Coordinator, PURCH.
By providing immersive community experiences, collaborating on advocacy efforts, and participating in educational initiatives, the Community Faculty illuminate problems of health inequity for PURCH students and help them develop skills to address them.
The ceremony on May 8, 2019 also commemorated the start of clinical training for third-year medical students—the first class of medical students admitted into Baystate Health's PURCH track.
During the ceremony, community faculty members received replicas of the PURCH lapel pins the students themselves wear, along with PURCH-branded fleece vests.
> Ceremony Marking PURCH Students' Transition to Clinical Training