Our commitment to community engagement
The School of Medicine was created because of a need in Greater Western Sydney (GWS). The School strives to meet the GWS community's expectation of the next generation of doctors who are skilled in working in and with the community, particularly in addressing health inequity.
The School values the support of the community in all its activities. Earlier in 2016, we acknowledged for instance, those individuals who had been part of our interview process for each of the ten year intakes.
Community input
Community input helps us to develop:
- the skills medical practitioners need to work effectively in GWS
- the partnerships where students can learn these skills; and
- research into areas that are deemed important by local communities.
Learning principles
The learning principles are to:
- start community engagement early in the course
- use the connections formed through the whole course; and
- gradually build a student's community engagement competencies.
Our aims
The aims are that our students will:
- develop competencies in working with communities
- develop insights into community issues and how these might be tackled; and
- appreciate their role as doctor working among these issues and as a part of a team.
Community engagement
Our community engagement is embodied in:
- the involvement of community partners since the selection process of our students;
- the integration of community-engaged learning throughout the medicine curriculum, including student placement in various community settings and community-based health and related services;
- community representation in several management committees;
- community partnerships in research;
- the facilitation of meeting the needs of community partners; and
- active participation of School of Medicine staff in community activities/events.
As an illustration, you may check out our community partners' network in supporting our learning and teaching, based on 2013-2014 data 2015 Community Partners Diagram (opens in a new window)
Contact Us
Dr Brahm Marjadi is the Senior Lecturer in Community Engaged Learning and Director of Engagement in the School of Medicine. He can be contacted at b.marjadi@westernsydney.edu.au or by telephone (61 2) 4620 3316.
