Albert Einstein College of Medicine service learning course brings medical students in Bronx communities

NEW YORK — When visiting the doctor, everyone wants to be treated by an expert, but also someone who is compassionate and understands the community they serve.

That's the mission behind a new course at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx that all its aspiring doctors must take.

What is "service learning"?

"Service learning" is a required course at Einstein, launched in 2022 and directed by Dr. Lauren Roth.

"To instill the sense of social responsibility into our medical students during their formative years of training," Roth said.

It's mapped out across all four years of education. It starts with bringing students into Bronx neighborhoods to learn about the history, strengths and needs of the borough.

Medical students then pair up with a community organization to deepen their understanding of community resources and the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, like access to food or transportation.

More than 40 community organizations participate in the service learning program. They range across 13 focus areas from healthy food access to youth mentorship, homelessness, harm reduction and more.  

"I think this is really giving our students an incredible opportunity to meet our patients where they are, to build trust with our community members and learn essential skills that are gonna make them well-rounded physicians," Roth said.

"We don't just go to the site and volunteer, we come back and reflect on our experiences," said Miles King, a second-year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

It's about building connections with the community, which is exactly what King is doing.

"We're learning about the art of medicine"

For his service learning course, King works with a therapist at the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation center at Montefiore.

"Coming to Einstein Buddies is really the highlight of my week. I get to learn a lot from the therapist," he said.

The future pediatrician – and musician – thought up the idea to introduce instruments to children at appointments.

The course is teaching a different way to treat patients, which King plans to carry into his career.

"I think a lot of medical school you learn about the science of medicine, but through service learning, we're learning about the art of medicine and without that, I think it would just be a less rich experience," he said.

Since the start of the program, Einstein medical students have completed more than 20,000 hours of service and counting.