Health Equity and Social Justice Leadership Program

The Health Equity and Social Justice Leadership Program (HESJLP) is a four-year program that will empower medical students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences that they can use to advocate for health equity throughout their careers.

This medical school program provides a supportive environment through which students can collaborate with Rush initiatives including the Rush Community Service Initiatives Program, Global Health, Center for Community Health Equity, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Health Equity Collaborative, and Westside United.

All students at Rush receive in-depth education about health equity through the Advocate role curriculum and elective opportunities. The Health Equity and Social Justice Leadership Program is intended for students with a focused interest who are looking for a longitudinal experience. During the first two years of the program, students will participate in an elective comprised of both classroom and community experiences, as well as a longitudinal project with a community organization. The third year will include a self-study curriculum as well as quarterly seminars. In the fourth year of the program, students will complete an equity focused elective that can be global or local in addition to monthly seminars with local and national experts. 

Twenty first-year medical students are accepted into the program each year through an application process. The HESJLP application will be made available in early 2023.