Impact of a Service Learning Curriculum that Emphasizes Bidirectional Learning on Medical Students’ Professional Identity Formation

Introduction

Despite the many known benefits of service learning, little is known about the impact of service learning on medical students’ professional identity formation.

Purpose

The objective of our study was to assess the impact of a service learning curriculum that emphasized bidirectional learning on the professional identity of medical students.

Methods

The community-based participatory research (CBPR) conceptual model, a model which emphasizes bidirectional learning between academic and community stakeholders, was utilized as a curricular framework for a required service-learning course at a single institution in North America. All 45 third year medical students enrolled in the course were included. Using a qualitative data analysis framework and the constant comparative method, the two researchers independently reviewed all 45 individual student reflections to identify themes that emerged and to iteratively create a codebook. A thematic analysis of the codes was then undertaken to answer the research question.

Results

Themes from student reflections revealed the following: (1) The process of perspective-taking during bidirectional learning promotes becoming an empathetic physician. Enabling factors are empathy with stakeholders and seeing oneself as a future change agent. (2) The process of perspective-taking and reconciliation of learner/stakeholder beliefs with a goal of unifying around a common mission was expressed in several different ways: 1.

Learner pivots from their original belief to stakeholder’s belief

2.

Both learner and stakeholder beliefs are incorporated into the final goal

3.

Learner keeps original beliefs

Enabling factors are empathy, humility, and discernment.

Conclusion

Bidirectional or reciprocal learning in service learning can promote professional characteristics such as empathy, humility, and discernment.