System Citizen

A system citizen is a physician leader who uses a systems thinking mindset to develop and use the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to the holistic needs of patients, populations of patients, and health systems to achieve the best outcomes.

How We Develop System Citizens

The System Citizen identity is cultivated through experiences that help students analyze systems, communicate across roles, and understand how healthcare environments influence patient outcomes, supported by the principles of the Health Systems Science & Interprofessional Practice (HSSIP) domain.

Systems Thinking & Problem Analysis

Students learn to map how people, processes, resources, and environments interact in clinical and community settings. They practice identifying interdependencies, recognizing vulnerabilities, and understanding root causes of system failures. These skills help them anticipate system-level consequences and propose meaningful improvements.

Equity, Population Health & Community Insight

Through early and authentic exposure to local healthcare and community environments, students learn to evaluate how inequities - social, structural, economic, and geographic - shape access, health behaviors, and outcomes. They learn to assess community needs, identify disparities, and apply a population-health lens to clinical encounters.

Service Learning & Community Partnership

Through structured service-learning grounded in the VT Engage model, students collaborate with community organizations to address community-identified needs and reflect on how social context shapes health. These experiences, introduced in the Community & Clinical Immersion course, help students understand their responsibilities within larger systems, strengthen community-informed decision-making, and build the habits of engagement essential to their development as system citizens.

Communication & Team Collaboration

Students develop the communication skills required to function effectively in interprofessional teams, including active listening, adaptive communication styles, and strategies that minimize barriers for patients and colleagues. They practice giving and receiving feedback and contributing to team decision-making grounded in patient and system needs.

Leadership, Safety & Change Agency

Students learn the behaviors of effective system leaders: identifying risks to patient safety, evaluating system challenges, advocating for quality improvement, and examining how policy, informatics, and workflow design impact care. They gain experience presenting systems issues and proposing actionable changes that support safer, more equitable healthcare.

Health Systems Science & Interprofessional Practice

Explore the Health Systems Science & Interprofessional Practice (HSSIP) domain to see how these concepts are applied throughout the curriculum.