Medical Students’ Participation in Longitudinal Community Service During Preclerkship Years: A Qualitative Study on Experiences and Perceived Outcomes

The aim of this study was to qualitatively evaluate medical students perspectives of the benefits of a longitudinal volunteering experience compared with a 1-day community service experience. Fifteen medical students participated in 2 types of community service: (1) longitudinal, weekly volunteering from February to April of 2019 and (2) a single day of community service in March of 2019. Semistructured interviews were conducted to identify medical students perspectives of the impact of volunteering. Interview data was analyzed thematically based on the common ideas expressed by the participants. Four themes emerged: development of communication and interpersonal skills; understanding how to teach; ability to understand community issues in a low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhood and the improvement of overall well-being. Medical students’ participation in a longitudinal nutrition education volunteer program was perceived as being an effective way to develop communication, interpersonal, and teaching skills. Medical students were able to interact with a diverse and vulnerable community located in a low SES neighborhood, to help them understand current community issues and risk factors.