Stages of Change: Incorporating Community Partnerships into Residency Training

In recent decades, the impact of inequitable distribution of resources and its influence on health disparities has become an increasingly important area for focus in medical education and training. Physicians can gain an understanding of the upstream forces responsible for social inequality, the lived experience of the social determinants of health, resources in the community, and advocacy surrounding those resources if they are taught to partner with community-based organizations effectively and consistently.

Using a stages of change model, we guide participants through steps to prepare, create, maintain, and evolve a partnership between a residency program and community organizations, using the examples of a recently established program and a longer-running, more in-depth program.