Mission Statement

Our mission is to prepare medical students to become effective care providers to urban medically underserved populations.

The most significant determinants of population health are found outside of the hospital. Social and environmental circumstances have proven to be chillingly powerful predictors of lifespan and health outcomes. These factors, understood collectively as social determinants of health, contribute in varying degrees to the profound health disparities that stymie the wellbeing of vulnerable populations within the United States.

We regard it to be of the utmost importance that medical education reflect our increasingly nuanced understanding of health and disease. UHS seeks to equip medical students with the tools and knowledge to not only become effective care providers to some of America's most vulnerable urban populations, but also to become advocates for necessary change.To accomplish this goal, UHS aspires to graduate medical students competent in the following areas:

  1. Social Determinants of Health: UHS will provide students with an understanding of the social, environmental and economic factors that influence the health of urban populations.
  2. Health Delivery and Disparity: UHS will equip scholars with a working knowledge of the means by which healthcare is delivered to vulnerable urban populations while providing students with an understanding of the disparity in access and outcomes that currently cripples urban underserved populations and low-income communities in America.
  3. Service and Outreach: Scholars will participate in a group outreach project to support underserved populations within Manchester.
  4. Clinical Medicine: UHS will provide scholars with preceptor opportunities within local urban centers so that scholars may gain experience working with underserved urban populations in a clinical context.
  5. Urban Research: UHS will provide support and resources to scholars interested in engaging in research within urban settings.