LIC Info: REACH

Regions Equitable and Affordable Community Health Program (REACH)

Program Overview

Considering REACH?

REACH is a longitudinal integrated clerkship that is offered during the clinical immersion phase to medical students from the University of Minnesota Medical School at Regions Hospital, a Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center, Comprehensive Stroke Center, and tertiary care hospital for the east metro and western Wisconsin. The LIC is centered around examining the impact of social drivers of health on the general health and well-being of our patients in our surrounding community. While at Regions, students will work through most of their core required clerkships. Students will have special training in ways social influences such as poverty, homelessness, drug use and mental illness impact the physical health of our patients.

  • REACH is a program combining some of the elements of a longitudinal program with some elements of standard block rotations.
  • REACH is looking for flexible, motivated students who are interested in learning and experiencing more about the social determinants of health.  
  • Interested students should have strong time management skills and a willingness to break up the traditional block rotation structure.

Location

Regions Hospital

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About Regions Hospital

Regions Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma and tertiary care center for the east metro and western Wisconsin, Regions is a private, non-profit, safety-net hospital, providing outstanding care in women's health, heart, cancer, surgery, trauma, orthopedics, neuroscience, burn, emergency care and more.

Advantages of the REACH Program

  • Specialized curricula focusing on health disparities, population health, and advocacy
  • Weekly didactics that include simulation sessions, procedure workshops, book and journal club, guest speakers, advocacy sessions, and more
  • Participation in teaching services from Internal Medicine, Surgery, OB/Gyn, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, and Neurology
  • Early hands-on experiences working directly with faculty resulting in greater independence
  • Longitudinal patient experiences with those at greatest risk in our community
  • REACH students will have the opportunity to advocate with the legislature
  • Work with preceptors longitudinally in IM, OB/Gyn, and EM
  • Develop an individualized clinical elective in an area of student's choice
  • Volunteer at People Incorporated Centers in the Twin Cities
REACH will allow students to:
  • Follow patients across different venues of care and help function as advocates, coaches, and care managers for those patients
  • Work with preceptors in hospital medicine, home-based medicine, and psychiatry with interest in population health and social drivers of health
  • Develop an individualized clinical elective in an area of student's choice
  • Volunteer at People Incorporated Centers in Twin Cities

Educational Themes

Program Objectives

REACH is a 10-month longitudinal integrated clerkship offered during the clinical immersion phase to medical students from the University of Minnesota Medical School at Regions Hospital. 

While at Regions, students will work through core clinical clerkships and will receive additional training in ways social influences such as poverty, homelessness, drug use and mental illness impact the physical health of our patients.

See the syllabus for specific objectives. 

Throughout REACH LIC

Clerkships

  • Students are assigned to dedicated preceptors for OB/GYN clinic and Internal Medicine hospitalists throughout Regions Hospital, and 1:1 during clinic and inpatient medicine.
  • Other clerkships are completed in smaller blocks.  For example, Psychiatry is split into 3 inpatient weeks plus 1 week in the emergency department's acute care area.  These smaller blocks generally are not scheduled back-to-back within a specialty (For example students may be scheduled for 1 week of Neurology, 1 week of OB/GYN clinic, 1 week of Medicine wards, and then 3 weeks of Psychiatry inpatient).
  • In general students do Psychiatry, OBGYN, and Neurology earlier in the year.  Medicine and longitudinal OB clinics are dispersed throughout the year.  Surgery is scheduled as a block in the fall and into the winter, and emergency medicine generally happens toward the end of the REACH program. 

REACH QI/Population Health

This course allows time to engage in the curriculum covering social drivers of health.   This includes dedicated didactic time, book club, documentary club, sim sessions and volunteering at People Incorporated.

  • Students will complete workshops and didactics within their regular rotations.  However, there is protected time Wednesday afternoons.
  • During the course of the year, we will read and discuss books covering topics such as homelessness/eviction, the opioid crisis, race, incarceration, mental illness, and others partially determined by student interest.
  • Wednesday mornings REACH students volunteer at a People Incorporated center to observe mental health professionals provide holistic, person-centered care to clients including intake and group sessions.
  • REACH students have opportunities to join a HealthPartners legislative team at the Minnesota State Capitol and to engage in other advocacy activities.

REACH LIC Plus Clinical Elective

Students have the opportunity to develop a 2 week clinical elective in the area of their choosing. This is developed by the student and the course co-directors and usually is scheduled in the second half of the year. 

Clerkships Completed

Internal Medicine 8 credits
Surgery 8 credits
OB/GYN  4 credits
Neurology    4 credits
Psychiatry  4 credits
Emergency Medicine  4 credits
REACH LIC Plus Clinical Elective  2-4 credits
REACH QI/Population Health 3 credits
Total Credits Completed:  37 credits

Application Instructions

To apply, go to the Home page and click on the "Apply Here" tab near the bottom of the page.

Contact Information

Beth Cliffe
REACH Coordinator
beth.g.cliffe@healthpartners.com