Background: The aftermath of the 1910 Flexner report resulted in significant gaps in the structure of medical education. Experiential co-curricular opportunities can contribute to addressing these gaps. Purpose: To explore, from a holistic social constructionism perspective, the added value of a co-curricular program, designed and implemented based on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory. Methodology/Approach: In this case study, randomly selected medical students, who had participated in an experiential co-curricular program, undertook focus group sessions. Data were inductively analyzed using thematic analysis based on constructivist epistemology. Findings/Conclusions: Benefits at the individual/student level included three interlinked themes: personal, academic, and professional development. The personal development theme related to building character and resilience, and the academic development theme related to application of theory and previously acquired knowledge. Four categories surfaced within the professional development theme. Emergent categories at the community level were institutional advancement, contribution to host centers, and giving back to the community. Implications: Co-curricular programs, that are based on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and that foster learning as participation in the social world, humanize medical education, and nurture holistic millennial physicians.

No abstract

Background: Some medical schools offer co-curricular experiential education programs. Despite the established value of such experiences, there are no published studies that reflect upon the systematic integration of perceptions of primary stakeholders, whose engagement is necessary for program continuity. Purpose: To showcase how stakeholders’ theory can be deployed to holistically evaluate the quality of experiential learning opportunities and the value they offer to all stakeholders. Methodology/Approach: Based on a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, data was solicited from 14 Program Organizers, 107 Participating Students, and 107 Onsite Mentors. Findings/Conclusions: The Program Organizers strongly agreed (95.5%) that the co-curricular program is efficacious. A majority of Participating Students rated the overall quality-of-experience as excellent (81.6%), and most Onsite Mentors rated students’ attendance as excellent (88.7%). There was a dependency between Participating Students’ attendance and extent to which they were engaged in teamwork. The qualitative analysis generated the “Global Citizenship” conceptual framework. Implications: Stakeholders’ theory can be leveraged to broaden the analytic scope of experiential learning, encapsulating the development that occurs at the community level due to individuals’ engagement. This conceptual framework can be utilized by other institutions to guide the development of similar co-curricular programs.