By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    An Expert’s Guide To Building and Improving Endurance
    June 30, 2022
    medical assistants
    What Do Medical Assistants Do On a Day to Day Basis?
    April 5, 2022
    superfoods to help with prostate health
    10 Healthy Foods That Can Help Protect Your Prostate
    August 29, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cost crisis
    What If the Health Care Cost Crisis Solves Itself?
    May 11, 2013
    Do You Need Life Insurance? What Does It Cover?
    December 23, 2022
    HIE metal plans
    The Four “Metal Plans” of Health Insurance Exchanges
    May 28, 2013
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Student-Run Clinics: Enhancing Med Student Education by Helping the Community
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Medical Education > Student-Run Clinics: Enhancing Med Student Education by Helping the Community
Medical Education

Student-Run Clinics: Enhancing Med Student Education by Helping the Community

Nate Ewigman
Nate Ewigman
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

 

 

Approximately half of the medical schools across the country have student-run clinics, medical clinics that are often started, operated, and managed by students. There are about 110 total in the United States. They are highly popular among medical students – the AAMC Medical School Graduation Questionnaire shows that of 13,681 recent medical school graduates, over 70 percent have had experience with a free clinic for underserved patients. They are entirely volunteer-based and typically have two primary goals: the provision of care to the underserved and medical student education.

Towards the first goal, most SRC patients are minorities and nearly all are uninsured. While the design, focus, and operation of SRCs vary, it’s safe to say that all SRC patients are biopsychosocially complex. Data from my own dear SRC, University of Florida’s Equal Access Clinic, shows the complexity of our patients. Nearly 95 percent have more than one chronic condition; nearly half of patients describe their mental health as poor most days in the past month; 20 percent have three or more mental disorders; and 100 percent of patients are uninsured (data unpublished as of press time).

More Read

Henderson Cosmetic Dentist Marielaina Perrone DDS
Antibiotic Guidelines For Dental Patients
Emergency Nurses: An Overabundance of Violence
Scholarships for IT, Computer Science and Health IT Students
Can Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment Help Diabetics?
Person-Centered HealthCare: Medical Schools’ Efforts to Address Primary Care Needs

Given that SRCs provide care for the community’s vulnerable patients at an average of 36,000 patient visits per year, it’s clear that they are an important part of the safety net that medical schools provide. They also represent a venue for valuable educational opportunities for medical students. They support medical education in three ways.

1. SRCs are highly interprofessional. AAMC data shows that approximately 10 percent of medical school graduates describe their teamwork experience with other professionals as inadequate. SRCs effectively meet this educational goal. Clinical operations are professionally integrated: At our clinic, medical students work alongside social workers and students from pharmacy, physician assistant, dental, physical therapy, masters of public health, pre-medical, and clinical psychology Ph.D. candidates. For three years, the top levels of the clinic’s leadership have included students from disciplines outside of medicine. As a clinical psychologist-in-training working at one of the clinics, I am part of the plan of care for most patients, along with representatives from at least four other disciplines.

2. Data from the Equal Access Clinic system (unpublished as of press time) shows that 45 percent of patients seen would not have sought care had the clinic not been available. Those at SRCs know their time spent caring for people in their community is invaluable to each and every patient, promoting a sense of altruism and compassion for people from whom the social determinants of health are so prominent. Additionally, given today’s trend towards medical specialization, the community and the underserved can play a less prominent role. Regardless of intended specialty, SRCs likely facilitate this sense of community and altruism.

3. SRCs enhance knowledge about systems-level health care. Given the complexity of the health care system, systems-level knowledge is an understandable concern for nearly all medical educators. At SRCs, students learn crucial systems-level health care lessons. For me, working in a free clinic allows me to better understand the effects of insurance, billing, health care costs, and the true meaning of un- and under-insured in context.

Volunteering has an overwhelmingly positive impact volunteering on the medical (or other health profession) student. The literature on volunteering — a subset of positive psychology — shows that volunteering has a remarkable effect on the volunteer. This literature is rich with longitudinal cohort studies that show a 44 percent reduction in mortality among older (non-student) volunteers (controlling for age and sex) and increases in happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health, and decreases in depression. While no studies have examined the effect of volunteering at SRCs on med students, these effects are likely the same. However, each and every SRC clinic attracts its students in different ways: for some it is required, for others it is totally self-motivated. These incentive structures might alter the effect of volunteering at SRCs.

On a personal note, I served the Equal Access Clinic as a mental health director for two years and as a co-director of the clinic system for another two years. It has been an incredible experience that I treasure above nearly all others during my graduate school career. This year, I chose to step down as a co-director to become a volunteer again. I won’t pretend to know exactly why I made that decision, but I do know it feels great to re-connect with simply being a volunteer at a SRC.

 

TAGGED:student-run clinics
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

technology in medical research
The Tools Helping Medical Researchers See the Full Picture
News Technology
August 3, 2025
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025

You Might also Like

health benefits of gene targeting research
Medical EducationMedical InnovationsPolicy & LawTechnology

Breakthroughs in Gene Targeting in Mouse Can Help Humans

October 28, 2022
varicose veins treatments
Health

Choosing the Right Treatment Option for Varicose Veins

May 2, 2023

FDA’s Agenda for 2016: Biggest Issues on Agency’s Calendar for the New Year

January 13, 2016
mental health education
Medical EducationNursing

Five Benefits Of Taking A Graduate Certificate In Nursing Online

July 1, 2024
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?