Socially Responsible Surgery

The Michigan Medicine chapter of Socially Responsible Surgery (SRS) focuses on surgical equity through advocacy, education, research, and service to improve healthcare for vulnerable communities locally and globally.

Training Surgeons Committed to Health Equity

Our mission is to highlight the essential role of social responsibility in surgical care and to empower students in pursuing health justice-focused projects. The group provides collaborative opportunities for surgical trainees to become leaders in their communities locally and globally, engaging in activism, learning experiences, research projects, and community service. Socially Responsible Surgery originally started at the Boston University Medical Center in 2014 and has expanded to include chapters across the country. The Michigan Medicine chapter was founded in 2022 and is open to medical students and residents dedicated to exploring the role of social responsibility in the field of surgery. 

Opportunities

Socially Responsible Surgery at Michigan Medicine offers a variety of programs for trainees to support social responsibility in surgery through advocacy, education, research, and service.

Advocacy

Students and residents are currently working to evaluate care provided to incarcerated patients with the goal of advocating for policy changes for higher quality ethical care for this vulnerable population. 

Education

SRS is planning workshops, talks, and panels to discuss physician advocacy and effective social determinants of health (SDOH) navigation as a provider and to highligh the careers of physicians from marginalized backgrounds. Students are also evaluating the medical school and resident curricula to identify opportunities for improving trauma-informed care education.

Research

The group has a broad array of research projects encompassing topics from evaluating barriers to care for unhoused patients, effects of SDOH on trauma patients, outcome disparities for non-English speaking patients, and more. Research groups include junior and senior medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty mentors. 

Service

SRS students and residents are working to develop a student-run inpatient homelessness consult service and outpatient care coordination program in collaboration with Wolverine Street Medicine, Street Medicine Detroit, and medical students from Wayne State University. 

Please email the leadership team for the Michigan Medicine chapter of Socially Responsible Surgery at [email protected] if you are interested in joining the group or participating in one of our programs. 

Follow us on Twitter @UMichSurgEquity to learn more!