SRFC

The University of Minnesota Medical School and College of Pharmacy in Duluth worked with a local drop-in center in 2008 to start a free clinic. The HOPE (Health of People Everywhere) Clinic is a student-run, faculty-organized effort that offers students an opportunity to develop their clinical skills and learn how to work in interprofessional teams while providing needed care to people who are underserved or uninsured. This article describes how this initiative came about and the impact it is having on medical students...

We surveyed first-year medical students about preparedness for work at student-run clinics, and for addressing patients' access to care, and social issues. Most students did not know how to get uninsured patients ongoing care or medications outside of the student-run clinic. A large majority of students desired an orientation addressing these issues.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are currently more than 100 student-run medical clinics in the United States, operated in conjunction with various allopathic medical schools. However, there have been no reports regarding patient satisfaction with these free clinic services. METHODS: Fifty-two of 60 patients seen at the C.A.R.E.S. clinic over a 4-week period in the winter of 2007 completed a questionnaire. RESULTS: Patients were highly satisfied with laboratory services, staff friendliness, amount of time spent being interviewed, and the depth of the explanations...

BACKGROUND: This study explores the health status and the social and economic correlates of adults 20 years of age and older who presented at an urban free medical clinic in Buffalo, NY, between 2002 and 2005. METHODS: Clinic staff asked patients to fill out a Health Risk Assessment questionnaire that addressed their chronic disease and illness history, mental health, social support, substance use, income, education, and housing. Through statistical analysis of 469 anonymous patient questionnaires, we identified prevalent health conditions in this patient population and compared these rates to regional and national data...

At medical schools across the United States, students operate free clinics that have the potential to provide health benefits to patients while furnishing unique educational opportunities for students. While they provide the energy necessary to make these clinics successful, students must, due to their inexperience, collaborate with faculty, clinic preceptors, community members and medical school administrators to ensure that their clinics attain high standards in health care and education. Medical school faculty and clinic preceptors must make certain that appropriate health care is provided and that desirable educational messages regarding physician professionalism and altruism are conveyed effectively...

Students in the Community (SITC) is an interprofessional collaboration of health science students at the University of Washington. SITC runs a weekly free clinic at the Aloha Inn, a transitional housing facility for 70 homeless men and women in downtown Seattle. The focus of this clinic is on health education, chronic disease management, and re-integration of patients into the healthcare infrastructure. SITC serves as a valuable service learning opportunity for students. In addition to direct clinical services, students gain experience in planning health education strategies, community collaboration, and evaluating intervention outcomes...

CONTEXT: There are 44 million uninsured Americans. Lack of insurance creates a major barrier for the poor and near poor to get adequate medical attention. A portion of these are eligible for insurance and either do not know they are eligible or have difficulty navigating the application process. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the success of University at Buffalo medical students at a free clinic in helping patients enroll in government-sponsored insurance plans. DESIGN: Observational study SETTING: The Lighthouse Free Medical Clinic--a student-run free clinic operating in an urban minority Buffalo, NY neighborhood...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether student devised and delivered supplemental instruction is beneficial and acceptable to first-year medical students. A student-run Supplemental Instruction Project (SIP) was developed and delivered by second-year medical students and offered free of charge to all first-year medical students at Memorial University of Newfoundland taking the Integrated Study of Disease I course in 1999 and again in 2000. Small-group tutorials focused on subject material that second-year medical students identified as 'difficult'...

Since 1974 the Hispanic medical and premedical students at the University of California, Davis, have operated a free clinic in a Hispanic community in Sacramento with the support and assistance of the family practice department. Using National Residency Matching Program data for the years 1978-1982, we compared the specialties selected by the students who had participated in Clinica Tepati for elective credit with those selected by all other graduating students. Almost all of the Clinica Tepati students (96...