Service Learning: Integrating Student Learning and Community Service

Abstract

Health professions education is directly effected by changes in health care service delivery and financing systems. In the United States, as the health care industry increasingly shifts to a market economy, service delivery venues are moving away from acute care facilities and into community-based settings. Additionally, there is increased emphasis on primary prevention programs, often provided in public health settings. For health professions programs that traditionally provide clinical training in hospitals and long-term care facilities, there are unique challenges associated with identifying new venues in order to insure that students are exposed to a wide variety of patients with a range of chronic to acute disease conditions. One set of tools that has demonstrated usefulness during these kinds of transitions is service learning. This teaching methodology emphasizes increased partnership with clinical training sites, extensive orientation to patient populations and community resources, structured reflection and instilling the ethic of service in future health care providers. Although this article describes utilization of service learning in the context of current conditions in the United States, we hope that the principles presented here can be readily adapted in any setting.

Experiential Learning in the Classroom: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Pitches for Global Health Pedagogy

“…For example, experiential learning methods have been incorporated into various public health, medicine, nursing, and health-related fields (Marriott et al, 2015). However, studies to date examining experiential learning in public health often focus on service-learning programs that are integrated into the academic curriculum and place a larger emphasis on community engagement (Cauley et al, 2001).…”

Experiential Learning Through Participatory Action Research in Public Health Supports Community-Based Training of Future Health Professionals

“…Although the collection of research data is often assumed to be the realm of formal researchers, there is growing momentum for involving communities in the process of obtaining community-level data needed to guide public health efforts (Ahmed & Palermo, 2010). As such, community members and researchers alike need appropriate education and training when collecting local data on human subjects (Ahmed & Palermo, 2010), particularly as policies, practices, and settings change over time (Cauley et al, 2001). Engaging community members in the conduct of research has been shown to support research partnerships by capitalizing on diverse skills and resources, improving the quantity and quality of research, and building community capacity to deal with local health issues (Israel, Schulz, Parker, & Becker, 1998; Viswanathan et al, 2004).…”

“…Schools often use experiential learning and service learning to expose their students to new environments, help translate classroom-based learning into practice, and apply recently acquired knowledge and skills in an immediate and relevant setting (Cashman & Seifer, 2008; Cauley et al, 2001). This approach has been successfully used to introduce undergraduate students to public health (Cashman & Seifer, 2008; Yang, Woomer, & Matthews, 2012) and is frequently used by medical schools, colleges of nursing, and allied health programs to provide students with clinical training in institutional and nonhospital settings (Cauley et al, 2001). While most health-related programs integrate these educational experiences into the curriculum, fewer have included a research training component to increase the capacity of students to conduct public health research (Reardon, 1998).…”