How to maintain involvement in health equity during the time-constrained residency years. Practical strategies for 30 minutes a week.
Residency is the most time-constrained period of your career. You will not have the bandwidth to run a community health project the way you did in medical school. That's OK — the goal is to maintain the connection, not to replicate the fellowship experience.
Thirty minutes a week is realistic. Less than that and you'll lose momentum. More than that and you'll burn out. Here's how to use those 30 minutes.
Mentor a fellow (15 min/week). The next cohort of Aequitas fellows at your former chapter needs mentors who've been through the process. One email or video call per week — sharing what you've learned, reviewing their project plan, or just being available — is enormously valuable and keeps you connected to the work.
Stay current (10 min/week). Read one article per week from the Aequitas Health Journal or a health equity publication. This keeps your thinking sharp without requiring a project commitment.
Build your residency's capacity (5 min/week). Identify one health equity opportunity at your residency site — a community health rotation, a QI project, a free clinic — and explore it when you have time. You don't need to launch it immediately; you're planting seeds.
Most residency programs have health equity infrastructure you can plug into:
Community health tracks or concentrations — many programs offer longitudinal tracks in community health, global health, or health equity. If yours does, apply.
Free clinics and student-run clinics — as a resident, you can supervise medical students at student-run free clinics. This is mentorship and clinical service combined.
Quality improvement projects — QI projects that address disparities in care delivery (readmission rates by zip code, screening rates by language, etc.) count toward ACGME requirements and advance health equity.
Advocacy committees — your residency may have a health equity or community engagement committee. Joining takes minimal time and keeps you visible.
Your Aequitas Health fellowship is a permanent credential. Continue listing it on:
CV / Academic Profile: Under Honors & Awards, with your induction year.
Fellowship and Job Applications: In the relevant section. "Aequitas Health Fellow — National Medical Honor Society for Health Equity, [Year]."
LinkedIn: Under Honors & Awards or Certifications. Include a link to the Aequitas Health website.
Faculty Profiles: If you enter academic medicine, include your fellowship in your faculty profile. It demonstrates a longstanding commitment to community health — the kind of narrative promotion committees value.
You don't have to do this alone. The Aequitas network includes fellows at every stage of training and practice. Stay connected by:
Attending the annual National Aequitas Health Conference — virtual format means you can join from anywhere, on your schedule.
Joining the Aequitas alumni network via the national office — email health.equity@aequitashealth.org to be added.
Volunteering as a conference speaker or grant reviewer as your career advances. Your experience is exactly what the next generation of fellows needs to hear.
Return to the full resource library, conference presentations, and grant information.