RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 ‘Attorneys of the poor’: Training physicians to tackle health inequalities
JF Future Healthcare Journal
JO Future Healthc J
FD Royal College of Physicians
SP 12
OP 18
DO 10.7861/fhj.2020-0242
VO 8
IS 1
A1 Michael EB FitzPatrick
A1 Charles Badu-Boateng
A1 Christopher Huntley
A1 Caitlin Morgan
YR 2021
UL http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/8/1/12.abstract
AB The stellar gains in life expectancy and health over the past century have been accompanied by an increase in societal and health inequalities. This health gap between the most and least fortunate in our society is widening, driven by complex social determinants of health, as well as healthcare systems themselves. Physicians are not just well-qualified and well-placed to act as advocates for change, but have a moral duty to do so: to stand by silently is to be complicit.Following a workshop on health inequalities and medical training at the Royal College of Physicians Trainees Committee, we sought to examine how health inequalities could be addressed through changes to the medical education system. We discuss the arguments for reform in recruitment to medicine, and changes to undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education in order to equip the profession to deliver meaningful improvements in health inequalities. We propose a population health credential as a mechanism by which specialists can gain additional skills to take on leadership roles addressing health inequalities, allowing them to support colleagues in public health and bring in specialty-specific knowledge and experience.