Student Service in the Community
In addition to academic excellence, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine seeks to admit students with a demonstrated history of dedication to human concerns. This dedication is evidenced by longitudinal involvement in people-related helping activities. Medical school provides many opportunities for students to learn and work in partnership with the broader community. One of those opportunities is through the Service Learning Program.
The medical school encourages its students to continue their involvement in community service activities as often as their schedules will allow. Many student organizations conduct service projects. Some of the frequent service learning and student-initiated programs and events are listed below.
Student to Student
Student to Student is a community education program run by medical students. The program serves to communicate a wide range of health information to K-12 students throughout the greater Dayton community at no expense to them or their schools. Medical students visit classrooms and talk with students about a variety of health topics of interest in an age appropriate manner. Talks are geared towards "hands on" learning, using tools such as medical instruments, human bones and organs from Wright State's medical labs.
New Orleans, Louisiana, (NOLA) Service Trip
The New Orleans Spring Break Service Trip is a Service Learning Elective that occurs over spring break for first-year medical students. They travel to New Orleans and work with a community organization to perform 48 hours of various forms of service for the week and learn about the destruction and results of a natural disaster on the community. The impact of this project is multifold: providing service to the community of New Orleans, educating students on the financial and health impact on a community after natural disaster, gaining an understanding of how public policy affects communities after natural disasters, and helping students meet their service learning requirements. Multiple meetings beforehand prepare students for this trip as well as follow up meeting to reflect on the trip. (Read about the trip in Claire Dolan's blog.)
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity provides students with opportunities to build new houses or rehabilitate old homes in a mutual effort with other volunteers from the community and the future home owners. Students are encouraged to volunteer twice a year through Phi Rho Sigma for a day long effort.
Global Health Initiative
Global Health Initiative was organized by first-year students to provide opportunities for experiential learning within the medical field, enhance awareness of global health care, and foster a sense of compassion, social justice, and empathy in future physicians. Through the enhancement of student experiential learning opportunities, GHI creates a more holistic learning approach by evaluating social, cultural, political, and religious influences upon medicine in addition to providing inspiration for aspiring physicians who have the desire to challenge health care barriers that currently exist in the world. GHI hosts a symposium highlighting current issues in global health each spring.
