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BGU Med School Grads Are the Most Socially Involved

BGU Med School Grads Are the Most Socially Involved

March 26, 2014

Medical Research, Negev Development & Community Programs

The Jerusalem Post — Graduates of which of the five Israeli medical schools have climbed down from their ivory tower and showed the most social involvement in the community? Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, according to a report recently published in Harefuah, the journal of the Israel Medical Association.

BGU medical school graduates are much more involved in closing societal gaps than graduates of other Israeli medical schools. Societal gaps in Israel, including its healthcare system despite its universal health insurance system, are among the widest in the OECD countries.

When BGU’s Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School was established, involvement in the health of the community was a key theme. All medical students were required to be involved in the health of the local Negev population – from Bedouin to new immigrants and veteran residents.

The study findings reflect that BGU graduates, more than graduates of other schools, think that doctors have an obligation to reduce the health service gaps between rich and poor, Jews and Arabs, newcomers and veterans, men and women.

According to the study, half of all physicians who graduated from BGU are active in social programs beneficial to their community, compared to 34 percent to 38 percent of graduates from the other medical schools.

About a third of BGU physician graduates believe that the medical education they received had a major influence on their involvement in social programs, compared to only eight percent to 15 percent among graduates of other medical schools.

Read more on The Jerusalem Post website >>