Students embrace patient-centered care through hands-on, community-based experiences.
Mission
HMS encourages, fosters and supports medical students’ participation in community engagement, whether as a scholarly project or as an independent activity. In partnership, these two offices promote community engagement as an integral part of medical education:
Giving students the knowledge and skills necessary to engage and work with communities by providing information, training, mentoring and other resources
Providing funding for students who help sustain existing or new community-based projects
Deepening students’ knowledge and understanding of community and civic engagement, social justice, health equity and advocacy
Guiding Principles
The acknowledgment of the importance of understanding the community’s and patient’s perspective, experience and culture
Creating collaborative, sustainable partnerships with community agencies
The belief that community engagement and learning can be part of a larger agenda at health professional schools to reduce/eliminate health disparities. We believe that it is the obligation of institutions of higher education and health care institutions to engage with their surrounding communities.
Community Engagement Experiences Available to MD Students at HMS
Opportunities
Opportunities for medical students to engage with local communities in the Boston area and elsewhere are plentiful. Students have a range of options for short-term service, longer-term engagement, clinical training and scholarly work.
