Making a Difference

Dr. David Urion Associate Professor of Neurology, Director of the Division of Service Learning

A distinguished neurologist, Dr. Urion heads the Behavioral Neurology program at Boston’s Children’s Hospital. He is also the faculty director who guides Harvard Medical School students through their fourth year clerkship in child neurology. But almost as soon as you get into a conversation with him you realize that his true passion lies in directing his students toward the various research, service, and other enrichment programs available at Harvard.

“To be a Harvard doctor is to understand the social responsibilities that leadership in medicine entails—and not just give it lip service,” says Dr. Urion. “As one of my students recently put it, HMS has a strong social consciousness.”

Medicine is a profession that is about service. A Harvard Medical School education is about developing leaders who will do great things in service of humanity.

“Thanks to the incredible connections developed over the years, HMS is able to offer students unparalleled research and service opportunities to make a real difference to humanity, across the nation and around the world,” he says. “An ongoing project involves HIV education and assessment within the school, public health, and medical school realms in the People’s Republic of Vietnam. We’ve had people go to Cuba and work in an HIV hospital doing narrative history collection. In terms of domestic projects, one person established an after-school training program for children with asthma in the Chinese-American community.”

“The opportunities are as diverse as the students’ interest. Students can also collaborate with other faculties at Harvard, MIT, and with our affiliates in Boston and across the world. They can combine their M.D program with a Master’s in Public Policy from the Kennedy School for instance. Few schools allow you to break through the traditional medical settings and design your education around community experiences like Harvard Medical School does.”