Social and Health Systems 1-3

Social and Health Systems (SHS) 1, 2, and 3 are taught in weekly small-group seminars throughout the first three semesters of UNC’s medical school curriculum. These introductory courses cover three broad areas: (1) social and cultural forces that shape health, illness, and disease; the experiences of patients; and roles of physicians; (2) ethical dimensions of medical professional work and major issues in bioethics; and (3) health insurance, health care reform, and policy issues related to population health. These courses teach students to think critically about social contexts and influences on health and medicine and introduce them to a range of issues that are central to the medical profession. Students engage in interactive seminar discussions, hone oral presentation skills, and write papers.

The 2-volume textbook for SHS 1/2 is The Social Medicine Reader, 3rd edition, Volume I, Ethics and Cultures of Biomedicine, and Volume II, Differences and Inequalities, edited by current and former faculty members of the Department of Social Medicine.

Raul Necochea and Barry Saunders are SHS 1-3 Co-Course Directors.