Course spans all of Foundations (1.5 years)
Co-Directors
Andrew McCormick, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
mccormickaa@upmc.edu
Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
mir99@pitt.edu
Program Coordinator
Karen Marcinko
Office of Medical Education
klm352@pitt.edu
Course Description
The Community Alliance Program (CAP) is an innovative program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM) which aims to value community centered engagement. CAP partners with community organizations to engage students and faculty in communities of practice which centers on community strengths and community directed goals. Each group of 4-10 students will forge alliance with a community partner organization to learn and support the work of the partner during the first 15-months of their medical school experience.
CAP hopes to facilitate the development of our students’ professional identity which highlights trustworthiness, culturally responsiveness, restorative practices and strength based mindset to carry throughout their careers.
| Community Partner Organizations (2025-2026) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bible Center Church - The Oasis Project | Cancer Bridges | Casa San Jose |
| Center of Life | Champ at Arsenal | City Charter High School (Science) |
| Down Syndrome Association of Pittsburgh | East End Cooperative Ministry | Focus on Renewal |
| Foster Love Project | Friends of South Side Park | Global Links |
| Gwen Girls | Healthy Start | Hello Neighbor |
| Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation | Jewish Family Community and Immigration Services | Latin American Studies Association |
| Latino Community Center | Neighborhood Resilience Project | Peoples Oakland |
| Pittsburgh Hardball | Sally & Howard Levin Clubhouse | Second Avenue Commons Health Center |
| Special Olympics of PA | Street Medicine at Pitt | The Arc of Greater Pittsburgh (Achieva) |
| The Friendship Circle | True T Pittsburgh | Trying Together |
| Vincentian Schenley Gardens | YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh | |
Course Objectives
- Learn a model of community engagement built on relationship, collective responsibility and community centered values and goals
- Understand the development of trustworthiness through reliability, reciprocity, presence and humility
- Develop a strength-based approach to community engagement through utilizing asset-based assessments
- Recognize the use of Community Based Participatory Research (CBRP) as a bridge between community engagement and biomedical research
- Exam intersectionality as an approach to developing culture competency and humility
- Utilize restorative justice practices to manage conflict
- Develop skills for advocacy and leadership in working with communities
- Medical Students and the Community Partner Organization (CPO) will work as a team to develop and complete a service-learning project specific to the population they serve.
- Learn to think and problem solve in a non-medical environment
Educational Methods
- Small group workshops
- Listening and providing feedback to peers
- On-site activities with Community Partner Organizations
- Summative Retreat
Assessment
Assessment for this course is based on professionalism, service fulfilment, workshop participation, narrative feedback from community site, and final group presentation, as specified in the syllabus for each semester individually.