MUSC's Presidential Scholars

The MUSC Presidential Scholars Program is the university’s premiere interprofessional program for students. It was originated by Dr. Raymond Greenberg when he was the University Provost as a mechanism to enrich the academic culture of the University and promote greater interprofessional understanding among health professional students. 

The Scholars, representing all colleges, are selected for their two-semester experience through a competitive application process. They are joined by selected faculty scholars representative of each college. This co-curricular program allows students to bring an interprofessional perspective to the study of complex social, political, and human issues of broad interest to health care professionals and biomedical researchers. Students learn more about the complex issues involved in health and health care delivery through interactive didactic sessions and the design and implementation of community projects.

This year 41 MUSC students participated in the program. In 2007, the program established a collaborative relationship with the Charleston School of Law and this year seven law students and a law school professor joined the MUSC students in the program.

The 2010-2011 theme for the Scholars Program is “Improving the Community’s Health.” Working in interprofessional groups, students examined several health issues in the local community:

• Cultural Contexts: Expanding Knowledge About Diabetes Among the Local Hispanic Community
  (View pdf)  ( Commercial)
• Environmental Issues: Improving Knowledge of Proper Medication Disposal Among Pharmacists in Charleston County, SC
  (View pdf)  ( Commercial)
• Maternal/Child Health: Establishing Community Connections: Enriching the Lives of Pregnant Teens
  (View pdf)  ( Commercial)
• Mental Health/Substance Abuse: Evaluating Student Knowledge of Mental Health/Substance Abuse Services in Charleston, SC
  (View pdf)  ( Commercial)
• Preventive Health: Health Literacy: Focus on Reading Nutrition Labels
  (View pdf)  ( Commercial)

In addition to the community project work, Scholars implemented a community-service project at the Carolina Youth Development Center, presenting personal health and health career information to the Center’s students.

Next year, 42 MUSC students and seven Charleston Law School students will participate in the program.