As health care continues to evolve, training the next generation of healthcare leaders is more important than ever. However, many university undergraduate students are not directly exposed to topics such as health policy and management within their coursework or co-curricular engagements. At Duke University, we developed the Student Collaborative on Health Policy (SCOHP) as an inter-disciplinary health policy hub that offers opportunities for learning, engagement, and leadership in the healthcare-related fields for students of all academic backgrounds. We see opportunity for similar student-led groups to be established by student leaders at other institutions, increasing interaction with experts, mentorship and the accessibility of experiential education, service, and leadership in the health care sector. (Thomas et. al., 2022)
Mission
The Duke Student Collaborative on Health Policy will serve as a setting for Duke students to engage with pertinent questions rooted at the core of key health policy issues. By engaging with the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, this organization will allow students to gain a multidisciplinary perspective on the realm of health policy through research collaborations, community engagement initiatives, seminars, symposia, professional networking, and other events. Ultimately, this organization will strive to create a more informed undergraduate student body by fostering learning, exploration, and involvement with health policy topics.
Structure
Our organization is led by two presidents, each of whom serve two-year terms. One president serves their second year during the other’s first year. In spring 2023, SCOHP announced the formation of the Duke-facing committee, which would focus on engaging students, faculty, and employees, and the community-facing committee, which would continue external activities. Several initiatives – namely the Health Policy Passport, Health Policy Week, and Case Competition – were spun out into separate committees with their own leaders.
