Service learning: integrating student learning and community service

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.