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Mission Membership Benefits

Mission
**Please note: these programs are for M1-M4 students only
The NEOMED COM has adopted a badging program to recognize distinction among medical students who choose to acquire extracurricular specialized knowledge and skills during their time at NEOMED. These badges are a quantifiable mark of distinction in the context of a designated learning community. Learning communities are broadly defined as: "intentionally developed longitudinal groups of faculty and students that aim to enhance students’ medical school experience and maximize learning" (Ferguson et al, 2009).
The NEOMED COM Learning Communities are intentionally designed programs that contain opportunities to attain badges for students’ longitudinal, progressive and sustained engagement. Alternatively, students may explore several badges if they are unsure whether to commit to a longitudinal path toward greater distinction. We are prioritizing inclusivity and exploration to ensure any student at any stage in their personal and professional life can engage at any time. As more Learning Communities are added, we hope students will gravitate to communities as a means to personalize their own educational experience in the College of Medicine.

Membership Benefits
The following will be offered in AY 2025-2026:

1. Health Equity, Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL)
The HEAL learning communities will have concentrations in rural medicine, social justice, and urban practice. The core purpose of these communities is ro promote early and longitudinal engagement in diverse and underserved communities. Students will establish strong connections with peers and faculty, while co-constructing their knowledge of health and health care disparities.
o Rural Medical Education (RMED)
o Social Justice Partnership (SJP)
o Urban Primary Care Practice (UPCP)

2. Oak Badge for Medical Humanism
The Oak Badge for Medical Humanism recognizes students who demonstrate compassion, empathy, and patient-centered care. This progressive badge allows students to earn points through various activities, both internal and external, fostering skill, knowledge, and engagement. As the program evolves, additional activities will offer opportunities for students to deepen their commitment to humanism in medicine and develop holistic patient care approaches.

3. In the works - Research and Scholarship
The Research and Scholarship learning community will help students distinguish themselves amongst their peers. The qualities of critical thinking and problem solving, which are engrained in research, will promote the attitude of life-long learning in physicians, and in turn, better serve patients. The overarching goal of the badging program is to instill the process of critical thinking and reinforcement of the pathophysiological basis of disease in the student participants. We believe this will lead to one’s success in any M.D. career path. Critical thinking is a foundational process that will enable better decisions in patient care or in research (clinical or basic) and the application of basic knowledge to the patient is important for medical care.