Service learning in rural communities. Medical students teach children about the brain

Incorporating service learning into a medical school curriculum can have significant benefits for both the students and the communities they serve. The University of Minnesota Medical School-Duluth Campus has integrated an established neuroscience literacy program into a community service requirement for second-year medical students. Since 2005, medical students taking part in the program have made presentations about the brain and how it works to more than 10,000 elementary school students throughout Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. This article describes this initiative and the potential benefits to both the medical and elementary school students.