Michael Westerhaus

Michael Westerhaus aims to understand and respond to structural forces in society that create poor health and health inequities. As a primary care clinician at the Center for International Health, he seeks to bear witness to the lived experience of refugees in order to support their efforts to overcome barriers to health. As an educator with the organization SocMed and as a member of the Global Medicine Faculty at the University of Minnesota, he teaches social medicine and utilizes experiential and action-based methods to elevate the critical consciousness of health professionals. He also serves as Program Director for the BRIIDGE program, which prepares international medical graduates for successful entry into U.S. residency training programs. As a founding member of the Social Medicine Consortium, he leads efforts with a global community of partners who utilize social medicine education and strategic community organizing to mobilize power to advance health equity. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 2006 and completed the Global Health Equity residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2010. He also received a Master’s in medical anthropology from Harvard University in 2005.

Macy Faculty Scholar, 2019-2021 

• Clinical Practice: Primary Care at the Center for International Health
• SocMed, Co-Director & Social Medicine Consortium, Core Leadership Team
• UMN Global Medicine, Assistant Professor
• Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, Global-Local Course Director
• The Bridge to Residency for Immigrant International Doctor Graduates through clinical Experience (BRIIDGE Program), Program Director

  Research

  Publications

  1. Finnegan, A., Morse, M., Nadas, M., and Westerhaus, M. 2017. “Where We Fall Down: Tensions in Teaching Social Medicine and Global Health.”Annals of Global Health 83(2):347-355.
  2. Westerhaus, Michael,Finnegan, Amy, Goldsmith, Jennifer, Lyon, Evan, Fox, Casey, and Morse, Michelle. “Social Justice should be a key part of educating health professionals.”STAT News. April 7th, 2017.