Educating Health Professionals in a Community Setting: What Students Value

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Abstract
Health care and health professions education has been shifting into community settings. Hawai'i participated in the Community Partnerships for Health Professions Education program, an initiative funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that aimed to develop educational collaboration between community health centers, their respective communities and health professions schools. In 1998, after completing 5 academic years in this program, former students from one community health center site were polled to begin exploring those components of their experience that were most valuable to their subsequent health care practice. A survey was mailed to 65 former students, asking three questions: (1) what three components of your Ke Ola O Hawai'i experience (Wai'anae site) had the most impact on your practice;(2) is there anything else you would like us to know; and (3) where do you see yourself in 5 years? Thirty responses were received for a 46% response rate. Students identified three components as having the greatest impact: (1) the multiprofessional approach to health care and learning, (2) the community setting/contact, and (3) understanding the culture of the community. A fourth component that was also revealed was the impact this experience had on their personal and professional growth. Most students reported employment or plans to practice in a community-based, rural, or underserved area. These responses introduce ideas for sustaining a community-based multi-professional curriculum that is relevant to current health care practice.

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