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Community Engagement

Students at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University have backgrounds of the highest academic caliber and have demonstrated a capacity for service with a genuine desire to help those in need. Compassion and sensitivity to others are hallmarks of Temple students.

The diverse interests of our students are represented, in part, by the more than 50 student-run campus groups. Orientation Week includes a Student Activities Fair, where many student groups set up booths to answer questions and provide opportunities to join any groups that interest you. LKSOM encourages and supports broad service involvement through the Student Government Association. 

20 Ways to Learn through Service

  • Represent your classmates through the Student Government Association, which supports, advocates for and provides resources for medical students.
  • Train with the Temple Emergency Action Corps in disaster response in order to mobilize during local, national or international emergencies and provide basic medical care to those affected.
  • Participate with Temple Emergency Action Corps – Outreach to the Homeless (TEACH) in working with people who are homeless at clinics and residences.
  • Check out the School of Medicine’s Latino Medical Student Association and participate in screenings and blood drives.
  • Provide hands-on laboratory science lessons at a local elementary school through the Science in Public Schools Initiative.
  • Join the Student National Medical Association to learn about policy initiatives and community programs related to people who are under-represented in medicine.
  • Get involved with the Babcock Surgical Society, the longest established student group at the School of Medicine, that provides opportunities for job shadowing and learning about life as a surgeon.
  • Join the Pediatric Interest Group, it takes a trip each year to volunteer at Camp Boggy Creek.
  • Volunteer with Prevention Point/Street Side Health Clinic and conduct sterile syringe exchanges  and provide free preventative medical care.
  • Participate in Temple Arts Groups which builds a strong sense of community both within and outside of the school through concerts and other art events.
  • Join the school’s LGBTQ Alliance of Students Organized for Health and volunteer at a community outreach center that provides STD testing and referrals.
  • Plan a medical mission with the school’s International Health Organization.
  • Ride with the Temple University Emergency Medical System, a bike-based EMS response group.
  • Work with students involved with HERO (Helping to Energize and Rebuild Ourselves), a local community service offering a range of services for the North Philadelphia community.
  • Lobby with the American Medical Student Association in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., to promote awareness of current health policy issues.
  • Perform at LKSOM events with the TachyChordia acapella group.
  • Join TEACH and CARE, a student-run health clinic.
  • Learn more about South Asian culture with the South Asian Health Student Association through ongoing events, conferences and a speakers’ seminar.
  • Join Big Friends, a tutoring/mentoring program for the children of Kenderton Elementary School, in the School of Medicine’s backyard.
  • Join one of the many specialty-related interest groups to take part in community service activities and connect with faculty from particular disciplines.