Impact of a Service Learning Curriculum that Emphasizes Bidirectional Learning on Medical Students' Professional...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Professional Identity Formation
• Service-Learning Research

Background:

• Service-learning offers numerous benefits, yet its specific impact on medical students' professional identity remains under-explored.
• Understanding how service-learning influences the development of future physicians is crucial for curriculum design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of a service-learning curriculum, centered on bidirectional learning, on the professional identity of medical students.
• To investigate how community-based participatory research principles shape medical trainees' self-perception and professional development.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study involving 45 third-year medical students in a required service-learning course.
• The community-based participatory research (CBPR) model guided the curriculum.
• Thematic analysis of 45 individual student reflections using a constant comparative method.

Main Results:

• Bidirectional learning facilitated perspective-taking, fostering empathy and a sense of being a future change agent among students.
• Students reconciled their beliefs with community stakeholders', leading to professional growth through empathy, humility, and discernment.
• Key themes included developing empathy and integrating diverse perspectives.

Conclusions:

• Bidirectional learning within service-learning programs is effective in cultivating essential professional characteristics in medical students.
• Empathy, humility, and discernment are key professional traits enhanced through reciprocal learning in medical education.