The Interdisciplinary Student Community Patient Education Service (ISCOPES) project is a collaborative effort between The George Washington University Medical Center and George Mason University. ISCOPES is a remarkable program dedicated to improving community healthcare through service learning. This voluntary program involves Doctor of Medicine (MD), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Physician Assistant (PA), Physical Therapy (PT), Health Services Management and Policy (HSMP), and Master of Public Health (MPH) students who, in interdisciplinary teams, design and participate in service learning activities in the community. Specifically, these teams identify health needs and design health education and health promotion activities in partnership with community sites throughout the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Sites include, but are not limited to, La Clinica del Pueblo, the Washington Free Clinic, Head Start, Bread for the City/Zacchaeus Free Clinic, and Hospice Care of DC.

ISCOPES is the only program of its kind in the area; few universities across the country are doing anything like it.

ISCOPES provides students with a unique opportunity to interact with students from other health science programs, work with people from different cultures, function as part of a team, and strive to improve the delivery and quality of community-oriented primary care and healthcare education. In doing so, ISCOPES allows students to gain hands-on experience to supplement the information presented in class. Guidance from university professors, on-site social workers, health educators, and school administrators, allows students to bridge the gap between classroom learning and community service. For more information about the ISCOPES program, visit the website at www.gwu.edu/~iscopes.