Pathway to Discovery in Health and Society
Projects and Legacies
Learners may pursue diverse projects within H&S. For example, some do research on the cultural and behavioral contexts of health and illness; others examine the politics of our health care system or conduct studies of health disparities; still others lead change through advocacy, organizational management, and community engagement.
All projects are guided by a project mentor, with whom the learner develops a project plan and mentoring agreement. In addition, each learner is assigned an H&S faculty member to serve as their career mentor to ensure a positive experience within the Pathway. Recent AoC and AoD projects that would be appropriate in H&S include:
• Community Intervention: Residents developed and staffed a medical clinic at a local needle exchange site.
• Needs Assessment: "Reproductive Health Needs of Women in Domestic Violence Shelters" linked a UCSF student with local shelters to assess residents' reproductive health needs. Findings were presented at a national conference, incorporated into a report and program development at the Office of Family Planning, and were communicated back to the shelters with information about existing resources for reproductive health care.
• Policy Review: "Policy Perspectives on Medical Outsourcing and Telemedicine" was published as a commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine .
• Qualitative Research: "Hot Tea and Juk : The Institutional Meaning of Food for Chinese Elders in an American Nursing Home" resulted in the development of culturally appropriate recommendations to improve residents' nutritional intake as well as a manuscript submission.
• Quantitative Research: "Reporting Bias in Clinical Trials" was an observational study resulting in an oral presentation at an international conference, a thesis, and manuscript submission.
• System Change: Residents developed a business plan, stakeholder map, and collected data on existing procedures and billing leading to approval and funding of proceduralist service pilot at UCSF Medical Center.
Project abstracts and posters are available online to UCSF learners with Galen IDs. Undergraduate Professional School learners can use the link below. Other UCSF learners who wish to access this material can contact Pathways to Discovery Coordinator, Renee Courey.
Undergraduate Professional School Learners
