COMMUNITY CASE STUDY article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Health Communication
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1613259
This article is part of the Research TopicEvidence-Based Outreach/Service-Learning to Improve Health-Related Self-Efficacy through STEMM EducationView all 21 articles
Teaching Science in Outreach Programs May Enhance Health Science Communication and Engagement in Medical Students
Provisionally accepted
- School of Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, United States
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Medical education increasingly emphasizes the development of communication, empathy, and teaching skills alongside scientific knowledge. Community outreach programs offer a unique opportunity for medical students to cultivate these competencies in real-world settings. This pilot study investigates the impact of participation in science outreach programs on the engagement and perceived professional development of medical students. Thirty medical students from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine volunteered in two community-based outreach programs-Kids' Tech University (KTU) and Medical Discovery of Careers (MedDOCs). These programs involved interactive, hands-on teaching of physiological concepts to middle and high school students. Engagement levels were assessed using a modified Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), comparing students' self-reported experiences during teaching versus studying.Thematic analysis was applied to qualitative reflections. Students reported significantly higher engagement scores while teaching compared to studying (5.8±0.1; 4.4±0.1) on a 7-point Likert scale, p < 0.05). Thematic analysis revealed four key themes: community engagement and social responsibility, personal and professional growth, educational creativity and communication skills, and inspiration through role modeling. Participation in community outreach programs may enhance medical students' engagement, communication skills, and sense of purpose. These findings support the integration of structured outreach opportunities into medical education to foster holistic professional development.
Keywords: Portuguese (Brazil) Field Code Changed Medical Education, Community Outreach, student engagement, Health Communication, Active Learning, Service learning
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Prabhakar, Chang, Rau and Carvalho. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shruthi Prabhakar, School of Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, United States
Helena Carvalho, School of Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion, Roanoke, United States
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