Community Engaged Medical Education: Give Kids the World

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Community Engaged Medical Education (CEME)
• Physician Training

Background:

• Medical education faces challenges in preparing well-rounded physicians.
• Community Engaged Medical Education (CEME) is integrated to enhance learning and community benefit.
• The Legacy Trip at USD SSOM offers a unique CEME experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of the Legacy Trip on medical students' comfort levels interacting with children with medical complexity (CMC) and their families.
• To identify themes related to professional and interpersonal skill development in medical students.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of CEME in physician training.

Main Methods:

• Students participated in a five-day volunteering experience at Give Kids the World Village.
• Pre- and post-experience surveys assessed student comfort levels interacting with CMC and their families.
• Analysis of student reflections identified common themes in skill development.

Main Results:

• Student comfort levels interacting with CMC and their families significantly increased after the Legacy Trip (p<0.0001).
• Increased interaction with CMC was the primary driver of enhanced comfort.
• Key themes identified included finding common ground, accessibility, inclusion, facilitating joy, and professional development.

Conclusions:

• The Legacy Trip effectively increases medical student exposure to CMC and their families.
• This CEME experience enhances physician development in multiple domains.
• The findings support continued student participation in the Legacy Trip and CEME at USD SSOM.