EquIMED Q&A
First and Second Years
Through the partnership, EquIMED students not only experience health care delivery and public health from expert practitioners, they also learn from experts in the fields of engineering, medical visualization, human-centered design, advanced analytics, and performance improvement through multiple interactive small group seminars and simulations. They also spend focused time in rural primary care clinics throughout their first two years.
Third Year
Students complete a 2-week course that includes a variety of classroom and simulation sessions to provide students with an understanding of clinical care practice in austere settings, cultural humility, and the innovation design process. Students then complete a 2-week immersive experience in an under-resourced environment where they work with key stakeholders to develop innovative prototype solutions to address local health challenges. Some prototypes will then be further developed in partnership with the OSF Innovation Labs.
Fourth Year
Students complete a capstone project that includes a final paper, poster, and presentation to demonstrate what they’ve learned about how innovation can be used to reduce health disparities and improve care in the most vulnerable populations in the U.S. and globally, including many rural low-resource communities.
Students are assigned problem statements specific to their placement site, and onsite, they will work in pairs to present research summaries, learn from local subject matter experts, identify gaps in care delivery, observe existing processes, and finally develop prototype solution pitches.
EquIMED leadership will work collaboratively with partner sites to identify specific, pertinent, and current health challenge topics that exist in their communities. Students will be assigned topics in the fall semester (M3 year) prior to departure.