How medical students learn about the social: Opportunities and limitations in service learning and volunteering

Medical education's integration of social determinants of health (SDOH) is essential for fostering equitable and comprehensive patient care. Despite this need, many medical schools struggle to effectively teach SDOH due in part to the hidden curriculum—subtle, institutional norms and values that implicitly shape student learning and, in this case, undermine an appreciation of SDOH. This article examines the potential and limitations of service learning (SL) as an experiential learning modality to address these challenges. Traditional didactic methods often fail to capture the complex, relational aspects of modern medical practice, necessitating a more interactive and community-engaged approach. When grounded in principles of justice and community partnership, SL can help transform medical students from passive recipients of knowledge into active, critical thinkers. We identify four key outcomes of SL in medical education: 1) development of empathic and reflective practices, 2) explicit engagement with social injustices, 3) promotion of diverse perspectives, and 4) cultivation of advocacy skills. To explore these possibilities, we present a case study of an urban medical school's SL program focused on prison health and mass incarceration, using it as a heuristic tool to illustrate both the strengths and challenges of SL in medical education. Through this analysis, we demonstrate how SL can disrupt the hidden curriculum, deepen students' understanding of SDOH, and enhance their ability to provide compassionate, equitable care while highlighting the need for future empirical research that systematically assess SL's long-term impact on medical education and health equity.