About Us
At the Charles R. Drew University Department of Family Medicine, we are dedicated to advancing education, socially informed clinical practice, and research to improve the health and well-being of underserved populations. Our department is founded on the principles of excellence in teaching, social justice, and community engagement, aligning with the university’s mission to reduce health disparities.
Department Vision: All families & communities achieve optimal health and well-being.
Department Mission: As part of a Black and Hispanic-serving health sciences institution, we serve as a national leader in Family Medicine for advancing health equity and social justice in under-resourced communities through excellence in education, community engagement, transformative clinical practice, and research.
Our Approach: We emphasize strength- and asset-based approaches to provide comprehensive, holistic care across the life cycle.
We focus on:
- Training family medicine physicians and scientists from diverse, underrepresented communities and medical backgrounds.
- Promoting meaningful access to healthcare by bringing healthcare to hard-to-reach and marginalized populations through street medicine, mobile outreach, and other modalities.
- Demonstrating leadership in collaborative partnerships with public and private sector stakeholders, as well as by building effective relationships with patients and the community at large, mitigating mistrust, and advocating for better overall community health and development of public policy based on health equity and social justice.
- Conducting relevant primary care community-partnered participatory research to advance the health of all communities.
- Training health professionals in evidence-based interpersonal communication skills (such as motivational interviewing, promotion of therapeutic lifestyle change, and guided reflective practice) to minimize implicit bias and provide a safe space for patients.
- Ensuring our trainees are skilled in providing culturally appropriate, racially tailored, linguistically responsive, compassionate care that promotes structural equity, cultural humility, addresses social determinants of health, structural racism, systemic bias, and empowers patients to be shared decision-makers in their own healthcare.
Chair’s Letter
Lisa Barkley, MD, FAAFP, FSAHM, FACSM
Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine
Welcome to the Department of Family Medicine at Charles Drew University! Our department is comprised of a remarkable and diverse group of faculty and staff dedicated to a wide variety of teaching, research, primary care, and direct service programs in the South Los Angeles area.
As a Black and Hispanic-serving health sciences institution, we lead in Family Medicine by advancing health equity and social justice in under-resourced communities. Our efforts address the social determinants of health to ensure comprehensive care. Our vision is for all families and communities to achieve optimal health and well-being. Explore our site to learn more about our goals and programs. Join us on our mission!
Quicklinks
