1. School based service learning
for medical students:
Design, implementation and reflections
Suzanne McKenzie, Sophia Couzos,
Karen Loto, Christie Schmid, Nicole
Mohajer
5. Background
• “The most vulnerable families are the most difficult to engage, and the most
disadvantaged by a fragmented service system. These families often make the least
use of services during the early childhood years. This can be because they lack the
skills and confidence to negotiate the system, they are unfamiliar with the culture and
language, they are isolated and lack the social networks that would help them find
and use the services that are available, or because they have multiple problems and
need help from many sources.”
Source: Tim Moore, Place-based approaches to supporting children and families, Centre for Community Child Health, The Royal
Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, 2012, <www.rch.org.au>.
• “Inequalities in health status have been identified in Australian children when
measured at school entry, which then continues to increase throughout primary and
secondary education, which can then threaten long term health. This widening health
inequality can result in cumulative health vulnerabilities in children of poorer
socioeconomic status, challenging the effectiveness of one-to-one general practice
consultations in improving health outcomes.”
Source: RACGP curriculum statement: http://curriculum.racgp.org.au/statements/children-and-young-peoples-health/
6. Community Service Learning
Students gain competency in
preventive practice, public
health and social service
through the experience of
delivering care to communities
in need
Key elements:
Care delivery
Community engagement
Public health and preventive
practice
Social justice
Familiarity with health care
policy and financing
Mechanics of health care
delivery
Interdisciplinary teamwork
7. Community Health Visits
• Provide a simple health service in a non-traditional
setting (ie primary school);
• Provide a service identified by community
stakeholders that is flexible around the
community’s needs;
• In addition to service provision, it is about
making links with the broader health sector to
bridge a gap in health service access for those
families who may be disadvantaged and ‘hard to
reach’.
14. The community health visits provided me with an
excellent learning experience
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2014 2013
Undecided/ Disagree
Agree/Strongly Agree
15. Conclusion
• Commitment
• Engagement
• Health promoting environment in the
school
• Service learning benefits communities and
provides valuable learning opportunities
for medical students
