'Experiential Learning of Social Responsibility' -- A Case Study from D. A. Pandu Memorial R. V. Dental College, Bengaluru, India

Abstract

Social responsibility, as a health professional competency is rarely, systematically taught or learned and students are expected to pick up from the “hidden curriculum.” The students may have limited opportunities to explore all the community groups who are at risk, but cannot access or afford care. In the process they might miss out on understanding the complex socio-cultural political determinants which influence the health situation of these groups.

To offset the limited opportunities of actual community exposure, we have adopted a “visualization process,” a learning technique commonly employed in Neuro Linguistic Programming. Through the visualization process, the student engages all of their sensory acuities, while sitting in the classroom and is able to empathize with the community. Visualization, faculty guided briefing, and self-reflection by the students has the potential to awaken the “social responsibility” consciousness amongst students, even when opportunities of field based training are limited.