Evaluation of a Community-Based, Service-Oriented Social Medicine Residency Curriculum

Background: Educators can create opportunities for physicians-in-training to learn about the health care needs of the underserved and expose learners to models of care and opportunities for service.

Objectives: We evaluated a community-based, service-oriented Social Medicine curriculum for Internal Medicine interns and residents initiated in 2007.

Methods: Qualitative data were collected through focus groups.

Conclusions: Potent community-based experiential learning with adequate time and encouragement to hear clients' stories allowed residents to gain an understanding of some of the complex factors that contribute to ill health in this population and seemed to influence residents' confidence in their skills in working with an undeserved population, particularly a population struggling with addiction. However, the curriculum did not provide adequate time for facilitated, personal reflection. These data will assist community health partnerships in developing their own curricula to address health needs of the underserved.