Resident Interest Group in Social Advocacy (RIGSA)
The Resident Interest Group in Social Advocacy (RIGSA) is a student-led group comprised of GIM residents and fellows across various medicine subspecialties. The group primarily focuses on advocating for marginalized populations. Several subgroups are actively involved in designing academic half-day sessions on allyship skills, amplifying patient voices, integrating anti-racism principles into the curriculum, and establishing a social medicine elective.
1. Social Medicine working group: Focused on creating a new social medicine elective. This elective will empower residents to assist patients affected by structural and systemic inequities. Future actions include brainstorming and establishing connections with potential clinics in preparation for piloting the elective.
2. Allyship and Black Health AHD working group: Responsible for organizing the Allyship workshop for PGY1 residents and the Anti-Racism Black Health Day for PGY2 residents.
3. Patient Self Advocacy working group: Development of a multi-modal tool that focuses on pre-admission, admission process and outpatient health literacy. Currently completed patient-oriented surveys (n=50) and next steps include interviewing healthcare professionals.
4. Guidelines for Inclusivity working group: Having successfully published the Guidelines of Inclusivity (available for AHD presenters), the group's next phase includes continual updates and enhancements to this dynamic document.
