Purpose
Integrating community-based learning early in undergraduate medical education enhances students’ competencies. Embedding community medicine provides a deeper understanding of how social determinants affect individual and population health. It offers hands-on experience addressing these factors, giving valuable context for understanding real-world health issues. This study aims to understand students’ attitudes and learning outcomes related to community medicine activities.

Methods
This mixed-methods study evaluates the impact of community medicine activities at a new Caribbean non-profit medical school on medical students’ learning and attitudes. Twenty-four students participated in health fairs and visits to local care facilities, integrated into their MD curriculum to reinforce CanMeds competencies. Pre-activity preparation included training on community engagement strategies and creating evidence-based disease-specific content. Students engaged the local population through health education and assessments, collaborating with local health professionals under faculty supervision. Data were collected through post-activity surveys with Likert-scale questions and open-ended reflections. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data underwent thematic analysis to identify key themes.

Results
Students reported that community medicine activities enriched their educational experience. Surveys showed strong agreement that the activities enhanced understanding of community health and reinforced CanMeds competencies. Reflections highlighted meaningful interactions with the local population and applying evidence-based materials as key benefits, emphasizing these experiences' value in their professional growth.

Conclusions
Preparing for the events enhanced students' scholarly skills through pre-work focused on identifying evidence-based health recommendations. During the events, they further practiced communication skills by working in teams, creating accessible educational materials, and engaging with the local population of Dominica, including those with low health literacy. By embedding community-based learning in the curriculum, students were able to strengthen key competencies outlined in the CanMeds framework, including communicator, scholar, collaborator, and leader competencies, in a meaningful and practical context.