The Premedical Deficit: Premedical Students' Perceptions of the Social Determinants of Health

Abstract

This project is based on ten semi-structured interviews of premedical students at UMBC. I analyzed these interviews to explore the students? perception and understanding of the social determinants of health (SDH). Seven key themes that emerged are (1) motivations behind choosing premedicine, (2) views about the premedical curriculum, (3) beliefs about a good doctor, (4) expectations from a good patient, (5) impressions of the healthcare system, (6) takeaways from social science courses, and (7) the premedical deficit: a limited discourse of SDH. The findings show that the interviewees possess a diverse range of perceptions of SDH. They acquired their perceptions through sources beyond the standard premedical coursework. Social science courses and their life experiences helped them to learn more about the SDH. My interviewees believe that incorporating more social science courses/topics in the standard premedical coursework would better help them understand how SDH affect people'shealth outcomes and life chances.