Social Emergency Medicine (Social EM) refers to the incorporation of social context into the structure and practice of emergency care.
Social EM is a field that has its grounding in the founding experience of emergency medicine, in caring for all in need of acute care, and serving as a safety net for our communities’ most vulnerable, as well as the social medicine movement, health equity, social epidemiology, and global health. The mission of the Social EM Section is to incorporate a holistic understanding of our patients’ lives and social contexts into how we serve as emergency physicians. We do this to improve our patients’ health before, during, and after receiving care in an emergency department, and thereby build a healthier society.
Social EM topics are incorporated into the residency curriculum with a day during intern orientation dedicated to introducing core concepts, and didactics throughout the year for all residents. The residents also participate in community partner visits to organizations that serve our patients and with whom we interact as emergency medicine physicians, including homeless service organizations, mental health facilities, and outpatient health clinics for underserved populations.
Residents also have ample opportunity with faculty support to take on Social EM projects according to their interests as quality improvement, research, or advocacy for improvements in policies and protocols.
Program contact: Dr. Laura Janneck, Director of Social EM and Associate Program Director
