Mobilize Medical Students in Free Clinics

Mobilize Medical Students in Free Clinics

As a research university committed to community engagement and public service, UCSD has a mission to help the underserved. There is a well-documented body of research showing that there are social factors like education, environment and income that predict worse health outcomes and higher incidence of chronic disease. Student-run free clinics — like the four operated by UCSD — help reduce social health disparities and further the community’s commitment to public service.

There are social factors related to higher incidence of chronic disease among a population, which are called social determinants of health. These factors are beyond genetic predisposition and individual behavior — they are about the contexts that determine health outcomes. Two of the most common social determinants of health are lower income and education levels. Free clinics target these underserved populations and offer healthcare services where there is need. Greater access to primary care will lead to greater preventive action and less chronic disease.

However, some worry that student-run clinics offer lower-quality care. Medical students are not licensed physicians, yet they run the clinics. This leads people to worry that student-run clinics offer lower-quality care and perpetuate the stereotype that low-income families should get lower quality care or be “practice” for aspiring doctors. But while medical students are given a lot of autonomy to run the clinics, they are still overseen by licensed physicians who make official diagnoses and file prescriptions.

Student autonomy in free clinics is an important part of the educational process. Empowering students with the freedom to run a clinic will motivate them to put in their best effort. Medical students have enough supervision to learn from their mistakes, which offers students real-world experience early on in their education. This experience will help them become better practitioners and may also inspire them to work with the underserved in the future.

Student-run clinics are also more sustainable than other options. They are funded by medical schools, as opposed to relying on funding from religious institutions, as many other free-clinics in the past have. Student-run clinics also have a constant supply of eager volunteers. UCSD’s clinic system has an interview process for undergraduate volunteers, who are primarily involved in clerical work. It’s an ideal set-up for medical schools, who get the opportunity to provide a real-world educational experience for their students and work to reduce health disparities on a societal level.

While not perfect, student-run free clinics are a sustainable solution to social health disparities. Greater access to primary care through free clinics will reduce health disparities for underserved communities and offer them awareness about lifestyle changes like greater nutrition intake, tobacco cessation and having a more active lifestyle that will decrease the prevalence of chronic disease.

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