Undergraduate Premedical Student Perceptions of an Emergency Department-Based Social Needs Screening Program

BackgroundMedical school admission requirements increasingly encompass competencies beyond the traditional premedical curriculum, such as service orientation and knowledge of "social determinants of health."ActivityThe Stanford Help Desk is an undergraduate service-learning program that provides didactic and experiential exposure to the social determinants of health through screening for social and legal needs of emergency department (ED) patients. We assessed student perceptions of program impact through student applications, course evaluations, and an online program survey.Results and DiscussionThis course strengthened students' understanding of their career aspirations in medicine. Students were resolved to incorporate consideration of social determinants of health in future practice.