Strategies To Integrate Community Engagement In Medical Student Education

Community engagement during medical education can assist in helping students to obtain the competencies necessary to be a successful community-centered physician. There is an increasing need for physicians to learn about community issues and to understand diverse community perspectives to more effectively improve the health of the community. The necessity of community engagement in medical education to address society’s health challenges is emphasized across the globe. In this article, authors share 12 tips for successfully implementing community engagement in medical student education. The tips were based on a comprehensive literature review and the authors’ experiences developing and implementing a community-engagement program, which incorporates a required two-year community-engaged scholarly project.