Participating in our community health programs is essential for premedical students as it provides hands-on experience in real-world healthcare settings, helping them develop a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and the challenges faced by underserved communities. Our programs allow students to engage directly with their community members, healthcare professionals, and community organizations, fostering essential skills such as communication, cultural competency, and problem-solving. Exposure to community health also reinforces the importance of preventive care and public health initiatives, shaping well-rounded future physicians who are not only clinically proficient but also socially conscious. Additionally, these experiences strengthen medical school applications by demonstrating a commitment to service, teamwork, and patient-centered care.
Service-Learning Projects
The process of applying what you have learned into a service project that helps the community is called service learning. Our curriculum is based on providing our students exposure to the key public and community health concepts necessary for them to complete their service-learning project.
We utilize canvas-based group assignments to guide them in the completion of a needs assessment in the form of a PhotoVoice. Their PhotoVoice will inform the design, implementation and evaluation of their own small scale-based community intervention.
CHEER Program Overview
The Community Health Education and Engagement in Research (CHEER) program is only one portion of the Medical Scholars Pathway. We have a strong commitment to providing our students with the opportunities to gain clinical skills through serving their community. Our Community Health Experience, using service-learning projects and interactive sessions, exposes Medical Scholars to the necessary skills and foundation necessary for them to conduct and sustain their own community-based health promotion interventions. Medical Scholars will participate in all aspects of implementation, program evaluation, and program improvement of their service-learning project.
The goal for CHEER is to teach pre-medical community college students foundations in:
- Health disparities and how communities are affected.
- How to assess community needs through community-based participatory research.
- Understand the basics of the research process including but not limited to the extraction, collection, interpretation, and dissemination of data.
CHEER is a virtual community health seminar held over a 3-week period during the summer. The program consists of 6 sessions, with 2 sessions per week. Students are given assigned readings, supplemental videos, and assignments through Canvas modules, along with group projects. To ensure full participation in discussions and activities, students are expected to complete the corresponding modules before each session. During the virtual sessions, we briefly review key concepts and focus on applying them through discussions, activities, and projects.
The CHEER course is divided into three sections, with each section divided into two sessions each. Sessions consist of lecturing, viewing videos, conducting group activities, and participating in small and large group discussions. The sessions should be facilitated in conjugation with the CHEER online course on Canvas.
Each session is structured to last around 2 hours. With the program spread over 3 weeks and meeting twice a week, the curriculum moves at a relatively fast pace. Given the limited time for each session, it’s crucial to balance lecturing with engaging discussions and activities. To maximize efficiency, content is best introduced and taught through Canvas, allowing the in-person sessions to focus on reinforcing that content through application, practice, and interactive discussions.
Leadership and Community Health Forum
The Leadership and Community Health Forum is a year-long, multi-session program designed to provide pre-health students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, professionalism, leadership, teamwork and social skills. Students will develop these skills through completing service-learning projects and participation in interactive virtual sessions.
Public Health and Community Health Curriculum
- Learn about the field of Community Health and Public Health
- Learn and conduct their own qualitative Needs Assessment: Photovoice
- Review the process of designing, evaluating, and sustaining a community-based health promotion intervention to implement in their community service project.
- Describe how community organizations can improve the health of our community.
Leadership Curriculum
- Develop personal awareness about their interactions within members of their team.
- Learn how to apply understanding of social styles and communication styles to work more effectively with others
- Understand the 5 stages of team development and how to motivate the team to achieve a common objective.
- Describe the 6 traits of being an Inclusive leader.
- Learn how to develop an Executive Presence
How to Apply
Program Criteria & Application
- Application deadline is May 19, 2025
- Must participate in both CHEER & Leadership Community Health Forum
- Must be a current 2nd or 3rd year community college student at the time of submitting an application
- Demonstrated commitment and achievement in community health and culturally sensitive care
- Must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or greater
- Attend all mandatory sessions and complete mandatory assignments
- Must be on a full-time pre-health educational track
- Must undergo a readiness assessment and educational planning with their MESA counselor
- Must participate in study groups or tutoring for STEM courses offered by their local MESA team
- Complete application and MSP post survey below