Population and Community Health Clerkship: Caring for Populations Within Their Communities

The Population and Community Health Clerkship (PCHC) is a team-based, interprofessional, community engaged experience required of all third year medical students. Students are placed in small groups directed by academic and community preceptors from a range of professions and disciplines.  Each team’s experience is unique and aspires to include meaningful engagement with a community or population of interest off campus. 

The Community Health Clerkship is a foundational course that has been part of every medical school curriculum at UMass Worcester since its inception. Originally a first year-course, the clerkship spent many years in the second year curriculum and expanded in the 2020s to include Population Health.  The PCHC moved to the third year in 2024. 

You can reach us at PCHC@umassmed.edu .  

The overarching goal of the PCHC is to provide relevant real-world context as students expand their understanding of public and population health concepts.

PCHC Planning Group Contact Information

The PCHC Steering Committee includes representatives from the medical school, the UMass-Baystate PURCH program, and (get names of PURCH partners and hopefully fill in more of our own). 

PCHC Steering Committee Contact Information
Please direct inquiries to PCHC@umassmed.edu

• Raquel Belforti, DO, M.Ed, Associate Dean of Education, UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate; Raquel.Belforti@baystatehealth.org 

• Lisa Clinton, PURCH Student Placement Coordinator, UMMS-Baystate; Lisa.Clinton@umassmed.edu 

• Linda Cragin, Director, MassAHEC Network and AHEC Scholars; 508-856-4303;  Linda.Cragin@umassmed.edu

• Sarah Forrester, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences ; Sarah.Forrester@umassmed.edu 

• Andrew Haggarty, Librarian, Library Education and Clinical Services, UMass Chan Lamar Soutter Library.  Andew.Haggarty@umassmed.edu 

• Heather-Lyn Haley PhD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health and Director, Population and Community Health Clerkship; 774-441-6366; Heather-Lyn.Haley@umassmed.edu

• Marie Meckel MS, PA-C, MPH, MPhil, Assistant Professor Physician Assistant Program, Bay Path University​

• Polly Fraga MD, Assistant Professor and Vice Chair for Academics in General Internal Medicine at Lahey Hospital

• Domenica Perrone, M.B.A., M.A., Director of Community Engagement and Outreach, Collaborative in Health Equity, UMass Chan Office of Health Equity

• Trish Seymour, MS MD, FAAFP, FHM, Associate Professor Family Medicine & Community Health; Assistant Dean Clinical Curriculum, OUME; and UMMMC Medical Staff President

• Hugh Silk MD, Vice Chair for Community Health, UMass Chan Family Medicine and Commnuity Health, hugh.silk@umassmemorial.org