Microsoft Word - LongitudinalServiceLearningarticle.docx


Published by University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing 

Longitudinal service-learning cultivates intrinsic motivation and protects against 
burn-out in medical students 
Heather Cassidy, MD; Erik Wallace, MD; Chad Stickrath, MD 

z.umn.edu/JRMC
All work in JRMC is licensed under CC BY-NC 



 

Heather Cassidy, MD; Director for Community Engagement, University of Colorado School of Medicine Colorado Springs Branch, 
Heather.Cassidy@ucdenver.edu 
Erik Wallace, MD; Associate Dean for Colorado Springs Branch, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 
Erik.Wallace@ucdenver.edu 
Chad Stickrath, MD; Assistant Dean for Education, Colorado Springs Branch, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 
Chad.Stickrath@ucdenver.edu 
 
All work in JRMC is licensed under CC BY-NC  

Volume 2, Issue 3 (2019)             Journal of Regional Medical Campuses         Abstract 

Longitudinal service-learning cultivates intrinsic 
motivation and protects against burn-out in 
medical students 
Heather Cassidy, MD; Erik Wallace, MD; Chad Stickrath, MD 
 
Topic: 
 
Burnout is rampant in health professionals—including medical students—and has consequences for patient care and clinician well-
being. A robust sense of intrinsic motivation is correlated with enhanced physician wellbeing and may protect against burnout. 
Service-learning may cultivate intrinsic motivation by tethering learners to their core values and allowing learners to make a direct 
impact on their communities.  
 
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) now lists a specific standard for service-learning, but less than a quarter of 
American medical schools reported meeting this commitment in 2015. Though medical schools are working to build service-learning 
curricula, limited data informs anticipated outcomes for learners and community partners participating in service-learning. We 
describe a longitudinal service-learning curriculum with attention to learners’ feedback on how participation impacted intrinsic 
motivation and prevented against burnout. 
 
Short Description: 
 
This session will explore intrinsic motivation as a protective force against burnout, and will describe medical students’ qualitative 
and quantitative feedback about how participation in a longitudinal service-learning curriculum impacted their intrinsic motivations 
for pursuing medicine. 
 
Four questions that were posed to/considered by session participants:  
 

1) How does burnout undermine professional identity development among medical trainees? 
2) How does intrinsic motivation impact physician burnout and wellbeing, and is intrinsic motivation modifiable? 
3) What is service-learning, and how does it differ from volunteerism? 
4) How can service-learning be designed to cultivate intrinsic motivation and protect against trainee burnout? 

 
Three take home points from our session: 
 

1) A strong fund of intrinsic motivation is correlated with greater physician well-being. 
2) Service-learning is a curricular intervention incorporating student service to the community in response to community 

identified concerns; best practice incorporates ample student preparation for—and reflection on—the community 
engagement. 

3) Longitudinal, mentored service-learning curricula placing students in positions of agency in their communities may cultivate 
intrinsic motivation and protect against burnout during the core clinical year.