BLOOM Health Equity is a longitudinal pathway that provides structured didactics, a journal club series, networking opportunities, and support for participants as they conduct a health equity project.
This non-degree program is open to fellows in their final year of clinical training, fellows in their research years of training, internal medicine chief residents, and academic hospitalists or primary care physicians who are within their first three years of their academic career at UPenn. Fellows who participate in a one-year fellowship (such as geriatrics) are also welcome to apply at the beginning of their training.
Key components of the BLOOM Health Equity longitudinal pathway:
- Interactive educational sessions, centered on various health equity themes.
- Examples of topics covered: Introduction to health equity terminology; Research methods in health equity; Using Slicer Dicer to understand population-health level disparities; Career panel on building careers in health equity; Advocacy in Medicine.
- Works in Progress sessions where pathway participants can present their health equity projects for feedback and guidance from colleagues and faculty.
- Participants are expected to have an identified mentor outside the BLOOM health equity pathway who will primarily support them, while BLOOM track leadership will provide additional mentorship and feedback on how to integrate health equity into their project.
- Community building, networking, and community engagement.
- Pathway participants can apply for funds (up to $2,000) to support their health equity projects.
Expectations for participants in the BLOOM health equity longitudinal pathway:
- Attend interactive educational sessions every other week (1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, 1-2pm).
- Work on a health equity project during the BLOOM longitudinal year that is expected to lead to a scholarly contribution, either through a presentation at the Penn Department of Medicine Research Day, a presentation at a national conference, and/or a journal article.
- Complete self-reflection and evaluation surveys during and after participation in the BLOOM health equity track.
Past examples of health equity projects:
Ideal projects will focus on understanding and/or addressing health inequities through quality improvement, research, medical education, and/or community-engagement. Some examples include:
- Developing and Evaluating a Trauma-Informed Care Training Pathway to Mitigate Perceptions of Racism
- Improving Transitions of Care and Reducing Disparities in Access to Outpatient Pulmonary Care
- Facilitating Access to Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Among Uninsured Patients at Puentes de Salud
- Enhancing Community Engagement in West Philadelphia Through a Kidney-Endocrine Integrated Screening Program
Additionally, projects may include but are not limited to: 1) measuring disparities in clinical care, 2) addressing disparities through quality improvement and/or research, 3) enhancing patient-facing education on social determinants of health, 4) engaging the community to address social determinants of health, and/or 5) incorporating advocacy on a local, regional, national, or international level.