A first-year community-based service learning elective: design, implementation, and reflection

Medical schools have increasingly begun to incorporate service learning practices into their curricula.

As part of a community-based service learning elective, 7 first-year medical students designed and implemented a health behavior education program for residents of a women's substance abuse recovery facility. The resulting program, Start Small, Feel Better, emphasized setting and accomplishing small goals to promote healthy lifestyle modifications.

We present personal reflections from the students, impressions of the participants, and qualitative data on the short-term effects of this intervention.

Start Small, Feel Better represents a model of how a service learning project could be put into practice and positively impact both medical students and the broader community.