Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University Students and Local Community Leaders Collaborate to Address Health Issues in Innovative Program

Students at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University recently came together with local community leaders at the School of Medicine campus in Nutley to address areas of health needs in their communities and to discuss plans for improvement. The gathering was part of the students’ Human Dimension course, a core component of the School of Medicine’s curriculum.

“The Human Dimension course teaches our students through a range of experiences and reflections what the foundational role of community is in health, illness and wellbeing,” said Bonita Stanton, M.D., founding dean of the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. “This longitudinal course will enable our graduates to deliver on our vision of health equity for all.”

During the three-year course, students are matched to families from underserved areas throughout New Jersey, and they are also immersed with a local New Jersey community to understand their health assets and barriers. At the end of their first year, the students present their initial community findings to leaders as part of their Community Assessment Project (CAP).

In these recent CAP presentations, students reported on communities including Nutley, Clifton, Paterson, Passaic County and Hackensack. Some health issues spotlighted included vaping in schools, the need for public safety education and healthy eating workshops. Students spent time with community members by attending local, county and state community meetings, interviewing local stakeholders and leaders and volunteering at various community agencies.

“I was impressed with our students’ plans to address important health issues in the communities they will serve,’’ said Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “They are living our mission to transform health care – and it starts at the beginning in how we train doctors. Our students will humanize health care.’’

“We have designed our curriculum to ensure the students understand all the determinants of health and feel empowered to collaborate directly with community members and leaders to truly make a positive impact,” says Carmela Rocchetti, M.D., director of Human Dimension and assistant professor of Internal Medicine at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. “Matching the students with families allows them to further build on their understanding of the health issues in these communities and, ultimately, help provide them with needed education and an increased ability to access their community’s resources.”

At the end of the Human Dimension course, students will have a vivid understanding of the health care disparities and the multifactorial causes of health inequities and will have developed creative solutions to address these issues alongside their community leaders. The course intends for students to have the insight and skills to be able to deliver the best possible care to the communities they will one day serve.

The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University had 60 students in its inaugural class. This year, the school received nearly 5,000 applicants for 90 slots for its second class which begins this summer.

To learn more about the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University and its unique approach to education, visit www.shu.edu/medicine.