Stronger when combined: Lessons from an interprofessional, jail-based service-learning project

Abstract

Long recognized as a means for enhancing student awareness of social justice and responsibility, service learning is now also being explored as a means for helping students develop interprofessional teamwork skills. This paper describes preliminary evaluation results of one such pilot program, an interprofessional service-learning project at a county jail. In the model, college students from a range of health professions and inmates work collaboratively with jail staff to design service projects that are implemented in the facility. Qualitative analysis of open-ended surveys completed by student participants identifies key learning outcomes, including awareness of the health and social disparities faced by people incarcerated at the jail, confidence in the ability to engage in culturally-sensitive practice and to address these disparities, and appreciation for the value of interprofessional teamwork. This preliminary evaluation is part of a larger effort to develop tools to measure student and community outcomes in interprofessional serving learning initiatives.