A First-Year Community-Based Service Learning Elective: Design, Implementation, and Reflection

BACKGROUND: Medical schools have increasingly begun to incorporate service learning practices into their curricula. DESCRIPTION: As part of a community-based service learning elective, 7 first-year medical students designed and implemented a health behavior education program for residents of a women's substance abuse recovery facility. The resulting program, Start Small, Feel Better, emphasized setting and accomplishing small goals to promote healthy lifestyle modifications. EVALUATION: We present personal reflections from the students, impressions of the participants, and qualitative data on the short-term effects of this intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Start Small, Feel Better represents a model of how a service learning project could be put into practice and positively impact both medical students and the broader community.