title: Service-learning: community-campus partnerships for health professions education.
abstract: In 1995, the Health Professions Schools in Service to the Nation (HPSISN) program was launched under the auspices of the Pew Health Professions Commission as a national demonstration of an innovative form of community-based education called service-learning. The foundation of service-learning is a balanced partnership between communities and health professions schools and a balance between serving the community and meeting defined learning objectives. This article offers a definition of service-learning and an outline of its core concepts; it also describes how service-learning differs from traditional clinical education in the health professions. Further, the author discusses how service-learning programs may benefit students, faculty, communities, higher education institutions, and the relationships among all these stakeholders. The article concludes with brief descriptions of recommended resources for integrating service-learning into the medical school curriculum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, USA. sarena@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Seifer
mesh_terms: D003153:Community Health Services; D003154:Community Medicine / Q000193:education*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D004517:Education, Professional / Q000379:methods*; D006281:Health Occupations / Q000193:education*; D012577:Schools, Medical