Community-based education and problem solving: the Community Health Scholars Program at the University of Florida.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND:
Although many medical schools understand and support the need for community service as part of educational training, this goal has been difficult to operationalize.

DESCRIPTION:
The Community Health Scholars program, a joint effort between the Area Health Education Center and the University of Florida, places 1st-year medical students in clinical settings with underserved populations, both rural and urban. The stated goal of the experience is to solve a problem identified by the communities as well as provide exposure to community practice and environment.

EVALUATION:
The program provided notable services to many communities. More than 80% of participating students believed it was a good or excellent learning experience; more than 90% believed that the program affected their career choice; and 100% believed that the program should be continued. Although this is a 1st-year program, students were not surveyed until their last year, suggesting that the program may have a lasting effect.

CONCLUSIONS:
This collaborative program successfully provided a service-learning experience for students while promoting solutions to problems in underserved communities.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Davidson, Richard A (RA);

Affiliation: Office of Generalist Education, University of Florida College of Medicine, Box 100291, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. davidra(-atsign-)medicine.ufl.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Teaching and learning in medicine (Teach Learn Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-; vol 14 (issue 3) : pp 178-81

Dates: Created 2002/08/22; Completed 2003/01/31; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12189639, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.