Community Engaged Medical Education: Give Kids the World

Adequately preparing students to be well-rounded physicians is a challenge in medical education. Medical schools have been integrating community engaged medical education (CEME) to broaden learning experiences, diversify populations their students serve, and benefit the community. The Legacy Trip is a unique CEME opportunity available at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine (USD SSOM) during which students spend five days volunteering at Give Kids the World Village, serving children with medical complexity (CMC) and their families. Students rated their comfort levels interacting with CMC and their families and reflected on their experiences and feelings before, throughout, and after the experience. These data were analyzed to determine impacts on student comfort levels and identify common themes related to development of professional and interpersonal skills. Student reflections revealed significantly increased comfort interacting with CMC and their families after the five-day experience (p<0.0001), with the increased interactions reported as the primary driver. Open-ended responses revealed themes of finding common ground, accessibility and inclusion, facilitating joy, and professional development. The Legacy Trip was an effective way for students to gain increased exposure with CMC and their families, enhancing their development as future physicians in multiple domains. These findings support ongoing student participation in the Legacy Trip and highlight the benefits of CEME at USD SSOM.