Distinction in Service to the Community

DISC- Graduation with "Distinction in Service to the Community"

This prestigious and rigorous program is intended to support and recognize Robert Wood Johnson Medical School students who have shown exceptional interest, leadership and commitment to volunteering in the community and working with under served populations. Students will distinguish themselves by assuming a significant level of responsibility in the collaborative planning, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of a focused, sustainable community health initiative. Students who are accepted into this program and who fulfill all requirements as certified by the DISC committee will receive diplomas at Commencement stating that they have graduated with "Distinction in Service to the Community."  

Students who are interested in improving the public health and eliminating health disparities are ideal candidates for DISC. The work students do through community service-learning projects in collaboration with community partners, will contribute to the growing movement to promote evidence-based population-oriented health interventions.

Service-learning will be guided by faculty and community mentors, drawing on the relationships the school has built with community organizations in central New Jersey and the Camden region. We expect that students' projects will address local community health needs identified through Healthy People 2010, Healthy New Jersey 2010 and locally focused priorities such as Healthier New Brunswick 2010 and Camden's Urban Health Initiative.  

Students will be encouraged to work in pairs or teams and their work must be guided by the following principles of community engaged scholarship: Projects will be based on community-identified needs and built on community resources and strengths. Community partners and academics (faculty and students) will contribute their unique expertise and share responsibility and ownership of the project. Projects will be developed through a collaborative approach that equitably involves community members and academics in assessment, defining goals and expected outcomes, program planning, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination. Assessment tools and interventions will be used that reflect the culture of the community. Assessments will be expected to lead to action to improve community health. Interventions will be designed to be sustainable and project results will be shared with all community partners who may be involved in the project. Students are encouraged to start developing a project in the summer following their first year through community-based opportunities available at the medical school.

For more information and application, Click Here .

For students accepted into the Distinction in Service to the Community Program, below are the forms for your initial committee meeting, interim committee meetings and final approval. Completed forms must be submitted to the Office of Student Affairs, Piscataway.

Click Here to view this year powerpoint slides from the minigrant symposium and photo gallery.

For a schedule of SIRCH (Students Interested in Restoring Community Health) elective sessions, Click Here.

For more information: