SAVANNAH – The Mercer University School of Medicine Savannah campus will hold its inaugural Day of Service on April 2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at Moses Jackson Advancement Center.
The Day of Service will take place in conjunction with the medical school's Distinction in Service to the Community (DISC) program from 9-10 a.m. at the William and Iffath Hoskins Center for Biomedical Research on the campus of Memorial University Medical Center.
After students make presentations on their recent service projects as part of the DISC program, they will travel from the Hoskins Center to Moses Jackson Advancement Center, located at 1410B Richards St., for volunteer work. Activities will include planting the garden, free health screenings, general maintenance, children's activities and a membership drive for the center.
Second-year medical student Laurel DuVall conceptualized the event based upon her experiences as an undergraduate on Mercer's Macon campus participating in the University's annual “Be a Good NeighBEAR” service day.
“This program is designed to give students an opportunity to see the need in the community and be the positive change,” said DuVall. “We want students to understand their community better and see how service can truly change people's lives.”
Fellow second-year medical student Calvin Cantrell has been working alongside DuVall to plan the Day of Service.
“We believe that taking Mercer students out of their familiar surroundings and allowing them to see areas of need will spark a sense of compassion and duty that will allow this program to continue,” said Cantrell.
About Moses Jackson Advancement Center
The Moses Jackson Advancement Center is a multi-purpose training and development facility developed to assist individuals in improving their opportunities for advancement through ongoing training and development. Programs and services are made available on site through partnerships with multiple local educational institutions, business partners and area non-profits.
About the DISC Program
Mercer University's Distinction in Service to the Community (DISC) program was established to encourage students to participate in service-learning through creating partnerships with local organizations and providing programs that will enrich and benefit the community. The DISC program adds an academic component and allows Mercer University School of Medicine students to be recognized for their commitment to community service. For more information, visit medicine.mercer.edu/outreach/disc.
About the Mercer University School of Medicine (Macon, Savannah and Columbus)
Mercer University's School of Medicine was established in 1982 to educate physicians and health professionals to meet the primary care and health care needs of rural and medically underserved areas of Georgia. Today, more than 60 percent of graduates currently practice in the state of Georgia, and of those, more than 80 percent are practicing in rural or medically underserved areas of Georgia. Mercer medical students benefit from a problem-based medical education program that provides early patient care experiences. Such an academic environment fosters the early development of clinical problem-solving and instills in each student an awareness of the place of the basic medical sciences in medical practice. The School opened a full four-year campus in Savannah in 2008 at Memorial University Medical Center. In 2012, the School began offering clinical education for third- and fourth-year medical students in Columbus. Following their second year, students participate in core clinical clerkships at the School's primary teaching hospitals: Medical Center, Navicent Health in Macon; Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; and The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The School also offers master's degrees in family therapy, preclinical sciences and biomedical sciences and a Ph.D. and Psy.D. in clinical medical psychology.
