EDI in Action: Student-led JEDI Group at Boston PA Program
Earlier this month, our team got to talk to students and faculty from MGH Institute of Health Professions PA program in Boston to learn about their student led justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) group.
When student Marjorie Archila was researching PA programs to join, she was looking for one that shared her values of equity, diversity, and inclusion. She talked to an alum of MGH who told her about the work being done by their student’s JEDI committee, and she knew that she wanted to join in. Once she became a student, Archila invited her friend and fellow student Jessica Negron to join the committee, and today they are hard at work improving their community and advancing the PA profession in the name of EDI.
In their monthly meeting comprised of first years, second years, and alumni, the JEDI committee discusses what is going on in their classes, within their curriculum, and how to increase diverse voices any way they can. They also split into subcommittees focused on specific initiatives such as mentorship, communication, and a Student Enrichment Team (SET).
The mentorship committee plans events throughout the year through Project Access where they host high school students from the Boston area to learn about what it means to be a PA, take vitals, and talk to current PA students. PAEA’s Project Access is an outreach recruitment program that aims to encourage high school students from underrepresented minoritized groups to consider the PA profession as a career.
The communication subcommittee uses social media to promote the work of the JEDI committee, highlight important issues related to EDI, and advertise scholarships. Negron is excited to combine her love of content creation with her passion for health equity.
The SET is run by second year students who hold study sessions for their classmates to review material, answer practice questions, and study cases. The goal of the SET is to help guide their classmates through the material to mitigate any learning barriers. While this is a self-described labor of love, to Archila this is what their JEDI work is all about – building community and bridging the gaps that divide us.
These dedicated learners are not the only ones doing this important work at MGH. Martha McKean, MS, PA-C, MPH, teaches a PA community course where she utilizes her master’s degree in public health to educate her students on health disparities. In this course they cover a myriad of topics including how to effectively care for patients with disabilities, as well as patients who are non-English speakers or Deaf, homeless, veterans, queer or other members of non-majority populations.
McKean discusses corrections medicine, disaster medicine, human trafficking, even climate change. Beyond exposing her students to the realities of the patients that they will one day treat, she hopes to inspire them to work within underserved communities after they graduate.
Archila reflected on her work on the JEDI committee and spoke to how it gives her “a sense of purpose and a distraction from the stress of being a PA student.”
If you want to spread the word about the work that your program is doing related to EDI, contact EDI Program Manager Ranya Shannon at rshannon@PAEAonline.org.
