Perception of undergraduate medical students regarding civic responsibility through service learning by visiting persons with different abilities

Abstract


 Objectives: Addressing various attitudes of students, can be a challenging task for educationists, so it is generally 
 embedded in the hidden curriculum in most Medical Institutes. The purpose of this study was to build up civic 
 duty among undergraduates, rooted in their learning objectives of the curriculum through a visit to the school of 
 children with different abilities (CFSPF).
 Materials and Methods: In year 4, students of Shifa College of Medicine during the clerkship of Community 
 Medicine, were taken on a field visit which is part of the curriculum. CFSP is privately run by an NGO, it has 45 
 enrolled individuals with different mental and physical abilities. The medical students visited CFSPF in small 
 groups for 8 months (Sep 2019 to April 2020) where they interacted with the individuals with special needs in 
 their environment. Students were able to practice empathy through the general physical examination and other 
 entertaining activities. In this qualitative study, this strategy was assessed by exploring the medical student’s 
 perceptions.
 Results: Focus Group discussions were conducted with the medical students and themes identified were: 
 interaction with children having different abilities, being thankful to the Almighty, philanthropy, learning to 
 empathize, the feeling of including them in our society, selfless smile, the contribution of services, and developing 
 various attributes.
 Conclusion: Students found the visit to a school for children with different abilities useful. The interaction in a 
 different environment has revealed opportunities for a wider scope of learning. 
 Keywords: Civic responsibility, Empathy, Persons with different abilities, Service learning.