Medical education, social responsibility and praxis: Responding to the needs of all children.

While poverty is a recognized risk factor for ill health, directly intervening on the effects of poverty has traditionally been considered to fall outside the realm of a physician's daily practice. Yet, to appropriately respond to the health needs of all children, we have the social responsibility to help our trainees become competent health advocates. Experiential learning approaches can be used to aid students in developing identities and competencies as health advocates. Experiencing illness outside the sterility of the clinic, from the patient's point of view, encourages students to seek the knowledge they need to care for patients who are disenfranchised, socially vulnerable and/or marginalized.