Day 1: Introduction to Abolitionist Medicine: A Necessary Unraveling
From an early age, we learn cause and effect—touch a hot stove, feel pain. As healthcare professionals, we’re trained to search for the causes of symptoms. Yet when it comes to systemic health inequities, why do we settle for treating the effects rather than dismantling the root causes? Why do we accept band-aid solutions to maternal mortality, food deserts, and medical neglect while leaving the underlying structures intact?
- What to expect: Abolitionist medicine challenges us to go beyond reform and reimagine healthcare without the oppressive systems that create harm in the first place. This session will explore how we can balance immediate care with systemic change, moving from reactive treatment to transformative justice.
- About the Speaker: Dr. Russyan Mark Mabeza (he/siya) is a surgical resident at UCSF. Dr. Mabeza’s background as both a surgeon-in-training and an advocate for antiracism, justice, and belonging in healthcare aligns perfectly with the goals of abolitionist medicine. His experience at UCSF, a leading institution in medical research and education, provides him with firsthand knowledge of current medical practices and the challenges in implementing systemic changes.See more on Dr. Mabeza here.
- Resources to Learn More:
- Read Dr. Mabeza’s article in the AMA Journal of Ethics about the abolitionist approach.
- Read this AMA Journal of Ethics article on abolitionist medicine.
- Top it off with this article on how abolitionist medicine goes beyond do no harm.
Day 2: Encoding Racial Equity into Clinical Algorithms & Practice: Minority Stress & Racism in Medicine
We bring in day 2 by exploring the critical issues of race-based medicine, the use of antiquated race in clinical diagnostics, and the impact of minority stress on health outcomes and quality of life. The sessions will delve into the harmful effects of racial bias in medical algorithms and discuss strategies for promoting equity in clinical decision-making. Participants will gain insights into dismantling race-based practices in healthcare which perpetuate cycles of harm and addressing the root causes of health disparities among minority populations. Further, future clinicians will get a chance to identify and adopt a curious lens regarding the impact of this upon mental health outcomes as well.
- What to expect: Attendees can expect an in-depth exploration of how race-based medicine and clinical algorithms perpetuate health disparities. The event will feature expert discussions on the effects of minority stress and racism on patient outcomes, as well as practical strategies for implementing equity-focused approaches in clinical practice. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in interactive Q&A sessions with a leading clinician and network with peers who are passionate about advancing health equity. This eye-opening event aims to provide actionable takeaways that will help improve patient care and challenge systemic biases in healthcare, ultimately transforming the future of medicine towards both greater inclusivity and a responsibility towards questioning and ceasing practices of harm.
About the speakers:
- Session 1: Donya Ahmadian, MPH (she/her), AMSA National Staff with Encoding Equity cohort
- Session 2: Dr. Chase Anderson, MD.
Dr. Chase T. M. Anderson (but just call him Chase!) is currently a child and adolescent psychiatrist at The University of California, San Francisco, the Director for The Muses Program for Minoritized Youth, and graduated from adult psychiatry residency at The Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UCSF. He completed his undergraduate education in Chemistry at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his master’s in Biological Engineering at MIT as well, and is a graduate of The Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.
Their writing has appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Mental Health, NPR, Scientific American, WonderMind, STAT News, and other news and journal outlets. In their free time, he enjoys going for long walks, doing queer things, listening to K-pop, reading fantasy books, playing soccer, writing, planning dinners with friends, and dreaming of how we can better the world together.
- Resources to Learn More/Action Items:
- Learn more about Dr. Anderson’s work with Minority Stress .
- Read some of Dr. Anderson’s Op-Eds here.
- Take a look at the history of race-based medicine in clinical diagnostics here.
Day 3: Affirming Care Practices: Timing, Trauma, and Empowerment
Every medical student remembers the first time they stepped into an OSCE, heart pounding, rehearsing the right questions, the right responses—what to say and what not to say. But real patients aren’t standardized. They don’t follow a script, and their histories don’t fit neatly into checklists. What medical school often forgets to teach us is that the way we listen matters just as much as what we say or do. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is more than a checklist—it’s about timing, power, and creating a space where patients feel heard and safe.
- What to expect: This session moves beyond theory into practice. Through guided discussion, mock OSCEs, and hands-on skill-building, participants will navigate real-world scenarios: responding to disclosures, communicating with sensitivity, and recognizing the impact of trauma on care. The goal is not just to learn what to say, but how to hold space in ways that affirm dignity, autonomy, and trust.
- About the Speaker: Dr. Taylor Brown, MD (she/her). Taylor Brown is an emergency physician and Medical Education Fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center dedicated to integrating trauma-informed care (TIC) into clinical care and medical education. She completed her undergraduate studies at Stanford University and medical school at Harvard Medical School. She is already an important innovator in TIC space, having developed a novel framework applying trauma-informed care to medical education published as a scholarly perspective, “Trauma-Informed Medical Education (TIME): Advancing Curricular Content and Educational Context.” She has created numerous TIC curricula and the first ever trauma-informed care faculty development curricula describing a trauma-informed approach to precepting medical students. She has presented her work locally, nationally, and internationally across medical specialties.
- Resources to Learn More/Action Items:
- Read Dr. Brown’s Trauma-Informed Medical Education (TIME) to learn how medical schools can integrate trauma-informed care into their curriculum.
- Read this piece on the importance of gender-affirming care.
- Finally, check out this piece on belonging, respectful inclusion, and diversity in medical students.
Day 4: Narrative Medicine- More than Words
Medicine is more than diagnoses and treatments—it is a collection of human stories. Every symptom is part of a larger narrative, and the way we listen, interpret, and respond shapes the care we provide. Yet, language in medicine is often wielded as a tool of power, sometimes dehumanizing patients or reinforcing bias. How do the words we choose impact trust, agency, and healing? How can narrative medicine help us see patients not just as cases, but as whole people?
- What to expect: These sessions will explore the history and practice of narrative medicine, examining how storytelling, reflection, and intentional word choice can transform clinical encounters. In our first session, the founder of Equity Commons, Dr. Aubrey J. Grant, shares how he has been revolutionizing healthcare education through a lens of narrative medicine and fighting back against implicit bias. Using virtual reality and AI, the company creates immersive experiences that address bias in healthcare. Dr. Grant aims to foster empathy and understanding among medical professionals and through blending technology with storytelling, Equity Commons seeks to transform patient care, ultimately leading to more equitable health outcomes and stronger patient-provider relationships.
- In our second session, through guided discussion and journaling exercises, participants will engage with the ways language can both harm and heal—and how reclaiming narrative can be an act of empowerment. Dr. Paul Gross, founder and editor-in-chief of Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine will guide us through his platform and how he invites healthcare professionals, students, and patients to share their personal stories, fostering empathy and reflection in the medical field. In addition to editing Pulse, Dr. Gross conducts writing workshops that emphasize the healing power of storytelling, which he will guide us through live. His work aims to connect healthcare providers with their own humanity and that of their patients, ultimately enhancing compassion and understanding in healthcare.
- About the Speakers:
- Session 1: Dr. Aubrey J. Grant is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Equity Commons. Dr. Grant is also a practicing clinical sports cardiologist and Director Cardiovascular Sport & Performance with MedStar Health. Prior to that, he was a clinical sports cardiologist at the Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital with specialty training in advanced cardiac imaging. Outside of clinical duties, Dr. Grant is passionate about implicit bias and leveraging technology and innovation to create thoughtful and engaging mitigation strategies for physicians. He was recognized by the National Minority Quality Forum as a Top 40 Leader in Eliminating Health Disparities.
- Dr. Grant will be joined by the Whitney A. White, the CEO and Co-Founder of Equity Commons. Previously, for more than 14 years, Whitney served as CEO of Afara Global, an innovation firm that guides startups, nonprofits, and corporate teams through the process of launching and scaling new products and services. Whitney is also the creator of Take Back Your Time, a coaching practice that helps high achievers cut through the noise of the million and one things on their plates and get on a clear path to achieving the goals that matter to them most. A graduate of Davidson College, Whitney founded the Davidson Tech Impact Fund in 2015, which provides paid experiential learning opportunities for women and students of color to intern with women and minority-owned businesses in critical areas related to tech at no cost to the business. Whitney is Chair of the Davidson College Board of Visitors and a member of the Davidson College Board of Trustees, where she serves on the Teaching, Learning, & Research and Audit & Finance committees.
- Session 2: Dr. Paul Gross, MD (he/him). Born in New York, the son of a Cuban father and Belgian mother, Paul Gross is a family physician and founding editor of Pulse–voices from the heart of medicine ( pulsevoices.org ), the online weekly devoted to telling the personal story of health care. Now retired from clinical practice in the Bronx, for thirty years he served as residency program faculty–at Montefiore’s Residency Program in Social Medicine in the Bronx and at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers. He graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is still an assistant professor at Albert Einstein. He and his wife Diane Guernsey have two grown daughters and are founding members of Avalanche at Dawn , a band whose most recent album, Daylight , was released in 2022, and who are soon to release their third album.
- Resources to Learn More/Action Items:
Day 5: The Unwritten History of Moral Medicine: The Human Rights Agenda
- What to expect: Medicine has never been neutral—its history is shaped by the values, biases, and power structures of its time. As future physicians, we inherit both the progress and the failures of those who came before us. These sessions will explore the evolution of medical ethics, the role of advocacy in shaping healthcare, and how we, as the next generation of healthcare leaders, can define a new agenda centered on human rights, equity, and justice.
- About the Speakers:
- Session 1: NMDP (formerly Be The Match & National Marrow Donor Program) Panel Panel
- Session 2: AMA’s very own Michaela Whitelaw and Jeff Koetje
Michaela Whitelaw is a 4th year medical student at Emory. Prior to medical school she was an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Philadelphia then spent two years in the Peace Corps Dominican Republic as a Community Health Promoter. Upon returning to the U.S., she worked part time at a medical legal partnership serving first-time mothers, worked as a Family Services Case Aid with World Pediatric Project and volunteered with a Latinx community health clinic in Philadelphia. Most recently she studied for an MPH in U.S. health policy and focused her thesis on menstrual equity. She’s passionate about incorporating medicine, advocacy, policy and education to address promote health equity and social justice.
While in medical school she has been involved in student groups, advocacy, volunteering, research, and electives focusing on immigrant health and ICE detention, individuals who are incarcerated, individuals experiencing houselessness, voting rights, DEI initiatives within our school, and other issues relating to health equity and social justice.
- Resources to Learn More/Action Items:
- Delve into the work of NMDP and how you can learn more about their mission.
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Hosted by Edwin Lindo, JD this podcast is connecting theory and practice for health justice. His podcast aims to directly address and explore the effects of racism and other forms of marginalization so that we can collectively achieve health justice. We will journey through history, theory, science & medicine by embracing storytelling, interviews, and community expertise.
- “Go Back To Where You Came From!” An Anthropological Look at Linnaeus, Taxonomy, and Classification”
- Race, Lung Function, and the Historical Context of Prediction Equations
- The Legacy of James McCune Smith, MD—The First US Black Physician
Day One: Reproductive Justice
Reproductive Justice is often defined as the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. Over the past few decades, increasingly restrictive policies have passed that have limited individuals’ access to essential reproductive care, particularly abortion care. Various states have limited public funding for abortion care, enacted policies that misguide and deter women from pursuing abortions, and limited access to such abortion means. Learn more about this topic by viewing the resources below and join us for a conversation with our invited speaker.
HEWA 2022 Reproductive Justice Toolkit
Resources to learn more:
Action items:
Day Two: Diversity in Medicine
Across medical institutions and programs, there is a significant underrepresentation of BIPOC and other minorities. Many factors contribute to this reality, including the substantial cost of a medical career, including high preparatory and exam fees, medical school tuition, access to preparatory tools, and bias in the selection process. The lack of diversity in medical environments exacerbates biases in the delivery of care and perpetuates distrust in medical systems. To equitably serve patients from different backgrounds, address the disparities in healthcare, and dismantle racism in medicine it is essential that the medical workforce reflects the diverse community it services. As future physicians, we have a unique responsibility to use our voice to advocate for increased representation in medical programs and institutions. Learn more about this topic and how you can take action by reviewing the information below.
Diversity and Equity in Medicine Toolkit
Resources to learn more:
Action Items:
Day Three: Immigrant and Refugee Health
Immigrant and Refugee Health
- The U.S. is home to more than 44 million immigrants and refugees. In recent years, immigrants and refugees in the United States have been subjected to increasingly aggressive immigration policies that violate fundamental human rights—including access to essential healthcare. Recent stories of misguided and coerced medical procedures have reflected immigrants’ bleak and commonplace experiences in detention centers. The inhumane treatment that the immigrant and refugee communities have faced is alarming and requires action. Tune in today to learn more about some of the most significant issues that this community is facing and how you can use your voice to advocate for them.
- Refugees are people who are forced out of their country due to war or persecution for political, ethnic, or religious reasons.
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Day Four: Environmental Justice
Whether it is access to water, food, energy, or overall quality of life, there is an imbalance around the world. Environmental factors can lead to health disparities and give unequal access to various populations. As future physicians, it’s essential to understand how environmental factors impact patients. Environmental justice acknowledges that underserved, impoverished, and minority communities are disproportionately exposed to greater pollution levels and harmful environmental conditions, which confer worse health outcomes. Native communities tend to be some of the most disadvantaged and disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice. Use the resources below to learn more about this critical topic and how you can advocate for environmental justice.
Environmental Justice Toolkit
Key Points to Know
- Native land today, as we know it, covers around 55 million acres of land across the United States. These lands contain natural gas and oil reserves, coal, various minerals, and much more. Tribes have faced difficulty in authority and management in some of their resources given non-tribal government involvement. Geopolitical lines are blurred, and those who suffer are the tribal lands.
- For years the federal government and non-tribal individuals have Communities such as the Swinomish Tribe and Coast Salish tribes have been working together to make tools to help create a tool that looks at different indicators that can potentially impact native community health from natural resource contamination. The environmental protection agency was the first federal group to take on an official Indian policy where tribes were the primary parties for setting standards for making environmental policy decisions.
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Day Five: Microaggressions in Medicine
Microaggressions
Microaggression is defined as a discriminatory offense towards an individual based off of their race, gender, or any marginalization. The term was coined by an African American Psychiatrist in 1970 to help encourage dialogue in regards to any harms that nondominant groups in medicine face.
Resources to learn more
Key Points to Know
- Microaggressions can be categorized into three separate groups; microinsults, micro assaults, and microinvalidations. Higher levels of racial microaggressions have been shown to correlate with higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
- On average four out of ten women leave their medical profession around six years after training. Those from minority groups are more likely to receive optimal medical care, and such conversations are delicate to discuss.
Action Items
