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Longitudinal Service Learning in Medical Education: An Ethical Analysis of the Five-Year Alternative Curriculum at Stritch School of Medicine

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Abstract

In this article, the author explores a model of alternative medical education being pioneered at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. The five-year Global Health Fieldwork Fellowship (GHFF) track allows two students per year to complete an extra year of medical education while living and working in a free rural clinic in the jungle lowlands of Bolivia. This alternative curricular track is unique among other existing models in that it is (a) longitudinally immersive for at least one full additional year of medical education, (b) grounded in clinical and service learning, and (c) heavily focused upon global health and the social components of medicine. Studies have shown that both longitudinal alternative medical curricular tracks and short-term global health electives have long-term benefits upon the professional development of participants, suggesting that the GHFF is likely to do the same. The author also argues that the GHFF is an advantageous model of global health education compared to standard offerings and provides a unique curricular model by which to foster the development of social values—such as professionalism, advocacy, and social justice—that are widely considered lacking in today’s medical education.

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Acknowledgements

The author expresses gratitude to the following individuals and institutions for granting him the opportunity to broaden his medical education in unique and meaningful ways: the Global Health department at Loyola University of Chicago SSOM; Dr Kayhan Parsi, Ms Nanette Elster, and the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics; Dr. Carlos Vargas and the staff at CMHP; Dr. Lila Glotfelty; and to Dr. Susan Hou, and Dr. Mark Molitch.

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  1. Internal Medicine Resident, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1108 N. Damen Ave. Apt #2F, Chicago, IL, 60622, USA

    Brian F. Borah

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  1. Brian F. Borah
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Correspondence to Brian F. Borah.

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Borah, B.F. Longitudinal Service Learning in Medical Education: An Ethical Analysis of the Five-Year Alternative Curriculum at Stritch School of Medicine. J Med Humanit 39, 407–416 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-018-9529-x

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