It takes a village to raise socially accountable doctors

![CDATA[When one looks at the statistics of Greater Western Sydney (GWS), Australia’s 3rd largest economy and one of the most diverse regions in the country, it is easy to focus on the socio-economic disadvantages and health disparities. However, neither the GWS communities nor the Western Sydney University School of Medicine (WSUSOM, est. 2007) is a fan of such a ‘deficit lens’. Partnership between WSUSOM and GWS community groups and services has always been based on a strengths approach, focusing on how both parties could co-produce socially accountable doctors who will practice excellent clinical skills with a firm understanding of where their patients come from. The partnership began in 2005 prior to WSUSOM’s first student intake with a series of community consultations. It was mutually agreed from the start that WSUSOM would adopt a community-engaged learning philosophy which is embodied throughout the 5-year curriculum, led by a flagship program called Medicine in Context (MiC).]]