Measuring social responsiveness of medical schools: a case study from New Mexico.

Medical schools can assess their social responsiveness by gauging the degrees to which the health needs of the populations and communities they serve frame their missions and endeavors in education, service, and research. Beyond considering these traditional academic missions, medical schools can also assess how well they apply their expertise to needed reform of the health care delivery system and to the formation of health policies aimed at improving community health status. This article summarizes the means by which a medical school's social responsiveness can be judged in each of the above areas, and it presents examples of successes and failures in such responsiveness by the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. It concludes with lessons learned that can guide future innovations in social responsiveness of medical schools.