Page 16 - The Apex - Touro College of Dental Medicine 2024

TCDM
STUDENTS
SERVE THE
COMMUNITY
J
ust like their peers at
liberal arts universities and business
schools across the country, students
at Touro College of Dental Medicine
are required to perform community
service to graduate—and they are
strongly encouraged to take part in
TCDM’s community outreach efforts,
as well.
“As health care providers, these
patients will be racially, ethnically, and
culturally diverse, and the sooner they
get out into the community to start
experiencing and really understanding
the world around them, the better,”
says Karen Longo, TCDM’s senior
director of student affairs.
While Longo oversees students’
volunteering projects, Dr. Alexander
Hall, Dr. Eric Wachs, and Dr.
Alan Rosenthal, head up the
outreach pieces of the overall
community service picture.
Together, “we balance the message
that although service is a requirement
for graduation, it’s really something
they should be doing, regardless, as
health care providers,” says Longo.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
TCDM requires 40 hours of
community service of its students,
and a majority of that time must be
spent outside the walls of dentistry.
“We want to push them out of their
comfort zones,” explains Longo. “We
give them some credit for volunteering
at their places of worship and at events
on campus, but we impress upon them
that their time and efforts be focused
outside of their immediate circle.”
By reaching beyond the borders of
their own backyards, students gain
a sense of humility and sensibility
14 \ TOURO COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE
to diversity. “As future providers,
it’s important that they begin to
understand the issues and barriers to
care in certain communities, and why
some people don’t seek care,” Longo
says. “Is it a lack of money? Difficulty
with language? They won’t know
unless they get out there.”
Longo guides students to local
organizations that welcome volunteers
from TCDM year after year (Ronald
McDonald House, blood, food and
clothing drives, suicide prevention
hotlines), but more often than
not, students approach her with
opportunities that are near and dear
to their hearts. In either case, “we
encourage them to embrace the spirit
of community service,” notes Longo.
“Instead of just participating in a heart
walk, think about what else you can