MD Program – The Drexel Difference Passion for Service

Through civic-minded, patient-centered education, Drexel transforms your passion into action. Not only will you learn the science of medicine, but you will also connect with and learn from people of all backgrounds how to be a respectful, compassionate physician.

Drexel’s long-standing commitment to community engagement provides opportunities for direct patient contact in over 20 affiliated training sites within our region and across the country. What you’ll learn in the first few weeks in a classroom is immediately applied to diverse patient populations with distinct medical needs. By working in neighborhood health clinics, you’ll begin to understand the physical, social and economic determinants of health care. And through curricular and volunteer opportunities, Drexel’s Office of Community Engagement readies you to be an advocate for community needs.

I was grateful for the community service experiences that Drexel offered. I was able to practice one of the most important skills we need as physicians: listening.
Steve Li, Class of ’24

Commitment to Community

More than Service Projects
Students’ participation in service projects is built into the first-year curriculum through the Health Advocacy Practicum course. Service is encouraged and supported throughout all four years of study. From free, student-run clinics to internships around the globe, we help deliver health care and education to some of the most vulnerable populations.

Serving the Underserved

Health Outreach Project Clinics
The Health Outreach Project works to provide caring, nonjudgmental and interdisciplinary health services to individuals who have limited or no access to care. Our programs in Philadelphia and West Reading strive to create a respectful environment in which patients, students, community members and health professionals work and learn together to address community health issues in innovative ways.

Providing Health Care for Vulnerable Populations

Community Health Elective
The Office of Community Engagement offers a transdisciplinary elective for 4th-year medical students to gain skills in interprofessional clinical community-based service for underserved populations and to develop clinical strategies that address health disparities and social determinants of health (i.e., education, income, neighborhood).

Expect More than Health Care

Student Activities & Clubs
MD students participate in many community-outreach clubs to serve the local and global community. One club is Mothers and Baby Dragons, founded by a Drexel student to promote healthy pregnancies through one-on-one partnerships between low-income pregnant women and medical students who can help facilitate a healthy prenatal journey.

Linking Care to Communities

Bridging the Gaps
Bridging the Gaps is a collaboration among multiple academic health institutions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and approximately 100 community organizations. It links the interprofessional education of health/social service professional students with health-related services for vulnerable populations. There are three components of Bridging the Gaps: A community health internship program, a seminar series held throughout the academic year on a range of population health issues, and an interdisciplinary program that focuses on building skills in collaborative community clinical service for underserved populations.