MedQuest’s IMPACT Goes Beyond Just the Classroom

MedQuest is known for producing high-quality health care professionals. From medical assistants to nurses to dental assistants, our graduates are trained to serve their patients in the best way possible.

A large of part of their skill comes from what they learn while attending classes on MedQuest’s campus. Whether that’s from learning with the most current technology – like 3D printing for dental assisting – or gaining real-world experience through externships with local employers, our students are prepared for anything.

But there’s more to an education than just attending classes and doing homework. Here at MedQuest, we recognize that students exist beyond just the classroom and a key part of higher education is providing them with opportunities to grow beyond that.

That’s where MedQuest’s IMPACT, or Integrating MedQuest Partnerships and Community Talents, comes in.

What is MedQuest’s IMPACT?

IMPACT is a volunteer-based program that allows MedQuest students to give back to the community. Both the Louisville and Lexington campuses hold service events throughout the year for students to participate in.

These opportunities range from on-campus blood drives supporting the Red Cross to donation drives for WaterStep, an organization that collects new and gently used shoes and helps fund safe drinking water projects around the world. Students can also participate in off-campus volunteer activities that benefit nonprofits and other organizations in the area.

Several times a year, students can also participate in the Adopt A Highway Program, helping clean up the roadways that MedQuest adopted.

Finally, MedQuest also has an on-campus food pantry that is stocked by student donations and designed to help other students who may be experiencing food and financial insecurity.

Who can participate?

IMPACT is open to all MedQuest students, and students can participate as much or as little as they want. For some students, that means just dropping off a bag of canned goods for the food pantry, but for others, that may mean attending a breast cancer walk.

Students also have the choice to go beyond the events that MedQuest coordinates by finding their own volunteer opportunities in the community. In the past, MedQuest students have helped elderly neighbors and fostered pets as part of the IMPACT Program.

What are the benefits?

It’s a well-known fact that people who volunteer see an increase in their mental health, but for MedQuest students, especially, volunteering can be a great way to boost mental health and take a break from the rigor of classes.

Getting out in the community and learning more about the organizations that exist in the area is also a great way for students to become more familiar with the community they will eventually be serving when they enter the healthcare field. In some cases, volunteering can be a great networking opportunity by helping students form connections with potential future employers.

But it’s not just potential employers that students can get to know. IMPACT events also help students meet other students from both inside and outside their program. And these connections can become friends for life.